Vindicated
by ShullieQ
Summary: AUooc warning. Everyone is normal high school kids. Neji comes back from winter break and finds new kids have transfered. rated for language, abuse, possible rape, slight violence and drug use etc NejiGaa [complete]
1. New Kids

**Vindicated**

Chapter one: New kids

Because of the temporary removal of Vindicated, all previous reviews were lost completely. However, there is an upside to this: I was still developing characters in the beginning chapters and now I can go back and fix them. There will be changes mad to each chapter, stuff added etc etc. Please be patient and re review please please and thank you.

Disclaimer: This fic's plot was originally Junsui Kegasu. You can read her version in her fic Lost and Found. I have her typed and spoken permission to write this fic.

* * *

Neji looked around the school yard. Not much had changed over the winter break. The same groups still hung out in the same places, despite the cold weather; and the same people still chased after the same people, he noted seeing the group of fan girls waiting for the Uchiha boy to arrive. The buzz still surrounded the area, disrupting the quiet morning, but he picked up the same two words floating around.

"New kids."

Giving a humph to himself, he continued inside. '_New kids huh? Sounds interesting.'_

He went into the office to drop off a letter for spring sports in his coach's mailbox. Sitting in some chairs waiting for the secretary to print out their schedules was the new kids. Two brothers and a sister. All three looked like they could be happier to be there.

The girl looked like she was about sixteen, a junior. Her sandy blond hair was pulled back into four pony tails. She looked very proper, but pissed and seemed more awake then her brothers.

The bigger of the two boys looked like a senior. He wore all black and fishnets. His brown hair was spiky and reminded him of that annoying blond haired freshman that his cousin was fond off. He looked odd and kinda weird, but at the same time kinda cool. He however looked about to fall asleep.

The smaller of the two boys was not just small, he was pathetically puny with a thin face and red hair. His clothes looked old and were way too big for his small stature. They hung off his shoulders making him look even smaller. He had dark circles around his eyes making Neji wonder about his health. He was sitting between his siblings as if he was hiding himself from everything around him. Neji noticed a dark bruise on his arm and a red mark on his neck that he was rubbing as if it hurt him.

The older brother glanced up and saw him staring at his brother and glared at him. "What are you looking at?" he demanded.

"Sorry," Neji said, quickly looking away. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he paused then looked back and smiled, trying again. "Eh…welcome."

"Thanks," the older boys said sarcastically. The girl smiled in thanks as the secretary brought them their schedules.

"How do we get to our classes?" the girl asked.

"Oh…um…here are maps," she said handing them each a map. "Unfortunately, I don't have time to show you to your classes," she noticed Neji who was quietly trying to sneak away. "Oh, Hyuga-san, would you help these three to their classes, please?"

"Sure," Neji said, turning back to them and leading them out. He led them outside into the school yard where a bunch of kids were playing ball.

"Why outside?" the older boy demanded, pulling his coat closer.

"It's nicer outside," Neji said, looking up at the clear sky. Even though it was winter, the air was warmer then usual.

"NEJI! HEADS UP!"

With lightning fast reflexes, Neji turned and caught the ball that was pelting towards them. The three siblings stared, as Neji sighed and stood up straight.

"Watch it!" he shouted to his teammates and their friends.

"Are you trying out for spring?" one asked.

"Uh, duh," Neji said, dropping the ball and holding it with his foot.

"Neji is always on the team idiot," said another. "Here Neji! Kick it."

Neji gave the ball a well practiced kick, sending it straight to the boys who asked for it. Turning his attention back to the kids he was helping he smiled. "Sorry, here lets sit here and I'll look over it."

They sat down and Neji took their schedules. "I'm Hyuga Neji by the way. I'm a sophomore."

"My name's Temari," the girl said. "I'm a junior. Kankurou is a senior and Gaara's a freshman."

"Cool," Neji said casually, mentally praising his insight. He then thought of something and looked up again. "Hey are you guys cold? Do you want to go back in?"

"I'm fine," Temari said.

Kankurou glanced down at Gaara who instantly stopped shivering. "I'm fine," Gaara said so quietly, it took a moment for Neji to realize he spoke.

"You want my coat? I have two on," Neji said.

"Why do you have two?" Kankurou asked.

'_Why does every time this guys says something it sounds like an insult?'_ Neji ignored it though. "My cousin made me; I just haven't taken it off yet." He then slipped it off and tossed it at Gaara, who caught it and put it on.

"Your cousin?" Temari asked, confused.

Neji shrugged. "I live at my uncle's house. That's my cousin right there," he nodded towards a girl with short dark hair standing with some other kids. Neji then began showing them on their maps how to get to each of their classes. After showing them on the map they got up and he led them each to their first class, leaving Gaara for last since his class was right down the hall from his own.

"Neji-kun!"

Neji and Gaara stopped and turned to see a tall man with brown hair and a toothpick in his mouth.

"Morning Coach," Neji said smiling. "I left the thing about the spring team in your mailbox."

"Just got it," he said holding up a few papers. "Who's this? Never saw you here before."

"This is Gaara," Neji replied when Gaara didn't answer. "He and his siblings just transferred here. You still teaching in room 155?"

"Yep."

"Gaara's in your class then," Neji said then turned to Gaara. "This is Coach Genma, he's pretty cool."

Genma chuckled. "Welcome, Gaara," he said holding his hand out.

Gaara gave him a tiny, shy smile, shaking his hand with his thin one.

"You like soccer Gaara?" Genma asked,

Gaara shook his head.

"Ah…well…" Genma shook his head sadly and led him into the class. "Not the talkative type are you? That's ok. You see soccer is…"

Neji rolled his eyes. If Gaara wasn't fond of soccer now, he would hate it before class was over. Turning he went into his class next door as the bell rang for first period.

(**1st period Government-Gaara**)

"Welcome back," Genma greeted to all his students. "How was everyone's break?"

Various responses were received. "It suck." "It was awesome." And of course the ever present "…" .

"Good," Genma said. "To celebrate the first day back I have a surprise."

"Food?"

"We can sleep?"

"No, a POP QUIZ!" Genma said his voice dripping with fake happiness.

"AWW!"

"Oh shut up, I'm tired too," he said glaring at them all. He passed out the sheets, then went over to his desk and pulled out some papers and went over to Gaara. "These are some papers that your parents have to sign ok? I'm not gonna give you the quiz," he said, like 'duh', "but this'll count as a homework grade ok?"

Gaara nodded and took them from him. Genma then gave him his new book and all that junk and explained to him how the class operated and all that boring stuff that teachers are required to tell their students at the beginning of the year.

After he was done, Gaara just sat in his seat, staring blankly at nothing while everyone else finished their quiz. He could hear them whispering about him, knowing they were pointing fingers at his back. He looked down at the papers given to him and frowned in distress and laid his head down on his arms. The day wasn't starting out good for him.

(**1st period Grammer 12- Kankurou**) (like our English class)

"—And we have a new student with us today," said Kurenai, turning to face the class. "His name is Kankurou and—"

"zzzzzzzzz……"

Several student snickered as Kurenai's sweat dropped.

(**1st period Algebra 2-Temari**)

"GOOD MORNING MY STUDENTS! I HOPE YOU HAD A WONDERFUL BREAK!" the teacher screamed.

Temari stared wide eyed at him. She seriously hoped this was a substitute, cause she didn't think she could survive this every morning for the rest of the year.

"WE HAVE A NEW STUDENT WITH US. TEMARI-SAN, WOULD YOU MIND STANDING AND TELLING US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF!"

Temari swallowed and stood. "Um…my name's Temari, I'm sixteen and moved here from Sunaga with my father and brothers. I like reading manga and cooking…" she paused thinking. "I like collecting Chinese fans and taking pictures. That's all."

"WONDERFUL! THOSE ARE EXCELLENT WAY OF EXPRESSING YOUR YOUTHFUL ENERGY! NOW, PLEASE TAKE OUT YOUR NOTE AND COPY TODAYS OBJECTIVE FROM THE BOARD WHILE I GET TEMARI-SAN'S PAPERS!" the teacher nearly skipped over to his desk and took out the same kind of papers Gaara got from Genma.

Temari looked down at one of them. 'Students will be on time to every class because this will help you improve on your later growths in life……..etc etc…..Mato Gai-sensei-math teacher'

'_Oh you have got to be kidding me…'_

* * *

Neji stepped out of class and started down the hall towards his second period class. He enjoyed this class because it was Art and he loved to paint, but he had wanted to be in a more advanced class instead of a fundamentals one. All the advanced classes were full and there was no more room for Neji. However, the Art teacher had agreed (because Neji was persistent and wouldn't leave her alone) that Neji could be in her fundamentals class for an independent study period. So while the rest of the class was learning how to draw lines and circles, Neji was painting acrylic landscapes and portraits.

As he was walking down the hall he glanced to his right.

"AH!" Neji jumped and nearly fell over into the lockers that lined the hall.

Gaara gave him a weird look.

"Holy fizzle, how'd you do that!" Neji demanded, clutching his chest trying to calm his racing heart. The redhead had come up to him so quietly Neji had never seen him.

Gaara held out his schedule, indicating he didn't know where to go next. Neji took it and looked down at it.

"Hey your in my next class," Neji said, surprised he didn't notice earlier. How tired had he been this morning?

"Gentleman, get to class!" a random teacher called to them.

"Shit, come on," Neji grabbed Gaara's wrist and ran down the hall and up the stairs to the second floor.

(**2nd period Art-Neji and Gaara**)

"You don't have a drill today, please get out your sketchbooks and work on your final project," Suzume-sensei said. After everyone was seated and sketching, she went over to where Neji was standing with Gaara. "Good morning, Neji," she greeted.

"Good morning, sensei. This is Gaara, he's a new transfer student."

"Welcome," she said smiling at him. "Gaara why don't you take the empty desk next to Neji since you two seem more accuainted. I'll bring you the things you need."

Neji led Gaara over to their desks and left him there to get out his canvas and paints. Gaara glanced over at the canvas.

"Whoa…you did that?" Gaara asked staring at it.

"Yeah, I'm doing an independent study so I have different assignments then the rest of the class," Neji said. "The assignment was to paint a portrait," he laughed and leaned over. "Some girl had asked me to paint her so I'm getting paid for it too. Shh." He put his finger to his lips as Suzume came up to them with Gaara's papers. As he set his desk up, he realized it had been the first time he'd heard Gaara speak aloud. He glanced over at him as the redhead started fiddling with the edge of his shirt and biting his lip as the whispers started all over again.

(**skipping a lot. 7th period English-Neji**) (the language)

Neji looked around as he walked it, noticing the difference immediately. New seating chart. Great. Finding his new seat he sat down and waited for class to start. He was surprised to find Kankurou in his class, and even more when he sat next to him. As class started he learned that Kankurou was the kind of person who could talk and take notes at the same time. Neji could do the same, and started a conversation, which ended up being somewhat more pleasant then he expected. Maybe Kankurou was just tired in the morning.

"Where are you guys from?" Neji asked.

"Sunaga," Kankurou replied, sneaking him some skittles he had saved from lunch. "It's a desert, so we're not really use to the cold weather yet."

Neji instantly felt bad. "Why didn't you tell me? I wouldn't've taken you outside this morning."

Kankurou shrugged and scribbled some notes from the board down on his paper. "It wasn't that bad. Gaara was kinda cold but you gave him your coat. I appreciate that, by the way."

"No problem," Neji said.

"Dude, I saw your brother, he's in my lunch," said the boy on Kankurou's other side. "He looks like he's gonna drop dead any minute. What's up with the circles around his eyes?"

Kankurou shut him up with a glare. "None of_ your_ business," he growled.

"It isn't nice to say things like that, Kiba-kun," the girl on Neji's other side said in a slow morbid voice.

"Oh, Hi Hinata-sama," Neji said turning to look at her. He hadn't noticed her there before.

Kankurou looked over at her as well, guessing this was Neji's cousin. He hadn't gotten a good look at her before. They both had dark hair and those freaky white eyes. Though, her hair was very short while Neji's was practically to his waist. Neji turned and saw him staring at them.

"Don't be a hypocrite," he said, giving him a funny look.

Kankurou grinned and sat back. He was starting to like this kid.

0

After class Neji and Hinata led them down the stairs to the front of the school. Somewhere along the way, Gaara joined them, but neither of the Hyuga's knew when. Temari was waiting for them outside.

"You guys walk home?" Neji asked when they reached the street.

"Yeah it's not far though," Temari said.

Gaara pulled off Neji's coat and held it out for him.

Neji shook his head and held up his hands. "You can keep it, I really only need _one_," he added pointedly to Hinata, who's narrowing of the eyes was barely visable.

"I'd rather you take it back," Gaara mumbled.

"Ok.." Neji took the coat from him and looked up as a black limo pulled up..

A man dressed in black stepped out and opened the door for Hinata.

"Um..Neji are you walking home again?" Hinata asked, before getting in.

"No, ma'am. Hyuga-sama asked that you both ride today," the man in black said.

Neji shrugged and got in after his cousin waving to the siblings. They watched them pull off, the started down the street together.

"That Neji kid's kinda cool," Kankurou said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"It was nice of him to help us," Temari stated.

Both glanced down at their brother for his opinion, but he wasn't paying attention and didn't answer. He didn't want to go home yet, so he walked as slow as he could and appreciated his siblings walking slow for him too. He came back to reality when Kankurou tapped his shoulder.

"How was your day?" Temari repeated.

"Ok…I guess…"

"Did you make any friends?" she asked, hopefully.

"No." he replied shortly. "Well, Neji was ok."

"What did you eat?"

"I wasn't hungry."

Temari sighed. "Gaara, I wish you'd try…I know it's hard but…"

"Sorry."

Kankurou didn't contribute to the conversation. He was deep in thought himself. He looked down at his watch. Wow, they had walked only three and a half blocks in an hour. But no one got home until five so—

Kankurou stopped short as they turned into their driveway. "Oh, shit…"

Temari and Gaara stopped too, seeing the same thing. Both groaned and followed Kankurou into the house and glanced around.

"What the hell took you so long?"

All three jumped at the sudden voice. Turning they saw their father standing in the entrance to the living room, arms crossed and eyes glaring.

"Hey dad," Kankurou said forcing a smile.

"You three should have been home over an hour ago. Why were you holding them up again?" he demanded of Gaara.

"We had to stay after for a bit to get stuff sorted out with our teachers," Kankurou lied.

"Don't try to defend him I saw you walking home!" their father shoved a finger in Kankurou's face. He then shoved his older son aside to get to Gaara who had shrunk behind his brother. He grabbed Gaara's wrist and pulled him out. "I'm sick and tired of you making everyone's life hell. Do you find it amusing?"

"No," Gaara replied, wincing at the pain in his wrist. "But I didn't—"

"Shut up!" the horrible sound of fist hitting jaw sounded. Because of the grasp on his wrist Gaara only lost his balance instead of falling into Temari. His father didn't wait for him to catch his balance again either, he simply dragged him upstairs to 'deal with his disobedience'.

Kankurou turned as Temari burst into tears. He wanted to tell her to knock it off, but he didn't have the heart to. Instead he said kindly, "Temari, don't do that…you might make it worse."

"Sorry," she sniffed. "I just can't stand the way…" she broke off and wiped her eyes. She went into the living room to calm down.

Kankurou picked up his and Gaara's bag and went up to his room, trying to ignore the yelling and sounds coming from his father's room. After putting the bags down, he hurried down stairs and made two cups of ramen. When they were done he went back to his room and sat at his desk. He placed the ramen on the desk and picked up Gaara's bag.

Sifting thought the random stuff in it he found the important papers parents were suppose to sign. He read through each and forged their father's signature on each. It was something he had learned to do long ago when he wrote fake absence passes. He noticed that his science and art classes needed a lab fee to use the supplies. He opened his desk drawer and opened the box inside. He pulled out two tens and placed them on Gaara's papers. Closing the drawer he began his own homework.

At last he heard the phrase he'd been waiting for.

"I don't even want to look at you any more, Get out!"

Kankurou kept his head turned away from the door, listening to the staggering foot falls approaching his room. Gaara entered somewhat quietly and sat on the floor against the bed. Kankurou waited patiently until the quiet sniffing died down before getting up and giving him one of the cups of ramen, which he ate hungrily…starving. Kankurou sighed, no words available, and placed a caring hand on his brother's head. He sat with him until the smaller boy fell into a fitful sleep.


	2. Curiosity

**Vindicated**

Chapter 2: Curiosity

* * *

Neji rolled out of bed trying to turn off his alarm and landed with a loud thud. Groaning he sat up and turned the alarm off. Half asleep he grabbed his bathroom stuff and got in the shower. The warm water felt really good and woke him up a bit. His aunt knocked on the door a few minutes later telling him that it was 6:15. He hurriedly washed his hair and body and got out. He knew it made him seem really gay to straighten his hair, but it got all weird when he didn't so he straightened it anyway. Putting on a bandanna, he left the bathroom and returned to his room to get dressed. 

He left the house earlier so that he didn't have to ride to school. It's not that he didn't mind getting the ride, but he very much enjoyed the cool morning air and a quick jog to stay in shape. The crisp air filled his lungs and made him feel more energetic. He was in a good mood that morning. Not only was it a nice day, but it was FRIDAY! What more could he want?

* * *

The three siblings got out of the house as quickly as they could to avoid any confrontation. Temari had gotten up early to make hurried lunches from the three other them. Kankurou greatly wished that Gaara could have saved home, but that would only make things worse. The confrontation the previous night had left Gaara with a black eye that was somewhat covered by the dark circles already there, but he had a nasty looking bruise on the side of his head and his lower lip was cut. Nothing else showed but they could see him limping slightly as well which made them hurt inside. 

"Hey guys!"

They turned at the greeting and saw Neji jogging up to them.

"Morning, Neji," Temari said.

"How are you guys doing?" he asked, jogging in place when he came up to them.

"Ok, I guess," Kankurou replied. "Do you jog every morning?"

"Yep!" Neji replied. "It keeps me in shape for the season and it keeps me warm."

"Dude, you are _weird_," Kankurou stated.

"Hehe, thank you," Neji said smiling. "Hey what are you guys doing tonight? I thought maybe we could hang out or something."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Kankurou said at once. "Our dad kinda…expects us back right after school."

"Ok," Neji said nodding. "You guys wanna stop at the 7/11 for something? My treat?"

"Are you trying to bribe us to make friends?"

"Mmm…..maybe. Is it working?"

Kankurou chuckled. "Kinda."

Neji led them into the 7/11 and told them to pick out whatever they wanted. In the light of the store Neji saw Gaara's face and his eyes widened, but he quickly looked away, not wanting to be caught staring again. As he pulled a Gatorade out of the fridge in the wall he watched Temari bag donuts for the three of them. Then at Kankurou who was getting coffee, then at Gaara who was following Kankurou around like a second shadow. He studied their faces, noticing differences from the day before. Temari's eyes were red and puffy like she had been crying. Kankurou looked distant and Gaara had the new bruise. What the hell happened last night?

"Neji, we're ready," Temari called from the front of the store.

"Healthy breakfast," he commented looking at the donuts, chips and soda in their hands. He placed his things on the counter (muffin, carrot sticks, the Gatorade, and crackers) and they put theirs down too. He paid for it all then they continued on to school.

* * *

(**2nd period Art-Neji and Gaara**) 

Gaara watched Neji paint, trying to be discreet about it. Since the rest of the class was still finishing their final project, he hadn't gotten an assignment yet. Suzume-sensei's only order was that he not be loud and talkative. But he never talked much anyway so it didn't matter. He looked down at his own sketchbook given to him when he turned in his paper and the money Kankurou had given him. He wished he could draw like that. Gaara looked back over at Neji whose total focus was on his work. He noticed some of the kids sitting around him staring at him then whispering to each other. He sighed. It didn't matter where he went or how scarce he made himself. People would always stare and whisper.

"Ignore them, their idiots."

Gaara looked over at Neji who sloshed his brush in his cup of water causing it to turn red from the paint.

"Hey are you hungry?" Neji whispered leaning towards him.

"I still have the stuff from this morning," Gaara whispered back.

"Here, this is better," Neji said, holding out a bag for him. Gaara reached in and pulled out a handful of pistachio nuts pre-shelled. "These are like my favorite snack food. Except they're so salty…they make you real thirsty." Neji laughed to himself, smiling at Gaara.

Gaara gave him a small smile in return and munched on the nuts. "What lunch do you have?" he asked after a moment of silence.

Neji looked up again, surprised. "I have C lunch," he replied.

"….." Gaara didn't say anything for a while. "Kankurou has that lunch," he said finally. "I have D."

"Oh," Neji said, not really sure of what else to say. He turned back to his canvas then looked back at Gaara and saw him tenderly touching the bruise on his head, but rubbing his side, where Neji suspected was another bruise. He pretended not to notice anything, but made up his mind to ask Kankurou about it later.

(**4th period Gym-Gaara**)

"Gaara, why aren't you getting dressed again?" the gym teacher, Anko asked coming up to him, where he sat on the bleachers.

Gaara shrugged silently.

"Your grade will go down if you don't participate," Anko warned.

"I don't like gym," Gaara mumbled.

"Why?"

Another shrug.

Anko gave him an impatient glare then calmed herself down. "Look, I'm going to have a hard time passing you if you don't get dressed and participate," she said. Gaara didn't reply he continued to stare at his feet. "Look, how about this, I'll give you an article and a ditto to work on and I'll give you half credit for the day ok? But I can't do this ever day, you have to dress sometime."

"Ok," Gaara mumbled. He watched her go then watched the rest of the class play.

(**4th period Health-Kankurou**)

"…there are many symptoms for depression and many things that can cause it," the health teacher, Shizune lectured. "Can anyone name a few?"

Kankurou didn't raise his hand, even though he knew a few. He was to busy staring at the clock. God he was hungry! The food bought at the 7/11 had last him through…first period and left him starving for lunch.

His thoughts wandered back to his siblings, wondering how they were doing. He wasn't worried about Temari; she was such a suck up when it came to school. The only thing teachers had a problem with was her attitude and patience level. Gaara was never good at making friends. He had a hard time trusting people other then his siblings, which Kankurou understood. The last time Gaara had had a friend was a long time ago, but he had found out about the happenings at home and told Gaara he didn't want to be friends anymore. That had been the reason for the first time they switched school. Kankurou had vented his anger out on the boy, getting him expelled and Temari in trouble.

His thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of the bell. Putting his notebook back into his backpack, he got up and headed towards the cafeteria.

Someone tapped his shoulder. Turning, he saw Neji standing behind him.

"I didn't know you had this lunch," Neji said. "Gaara told me in 2nd period."

"….Gaara _talked_ to you?" Kankurou asked in surprise as they sat down at a table.

"Yeah, why, is that weird?" Neji asked pulling out his lunch.

"Well…yeah… mn…no, I mean," Kankurou paused. "Gaara doesn't usually talk to any one. He's real shy around strangers." He didn't say anymore as he began to eat the lunch Temari had made (there wont be any cracks about her cooking in this. Her food's pretty good in this).

Neji also ate, but finally decided to ask his question. "Kankurou? I know we only met yesterday, and I'm sorry if this is a personal question, but—"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Neji bit his lip. "You don't know what—"

"Only the entire school is wondering about my brother," Kankurou said, coldy.

Neji looked down at his applesauce. "Oh…"

Kankurou didn't say anything for a while. He seemed deep in thought, as he polished off his sandwich. Swallowing, he finally looked up again. "Look, sorry … I just don't want to talk about it."

"I understand," Neji said nodding. "But, hey, if you ever want to talk to someone, I promise that I won't tell anyone."

Kankurou gave him a hard look. Then he smiled. "Thanks."

(**5th period Tech Ed-Temari**)

Temari looked up when someone poked her.

"Hi," said the girl sitting next to her. "I'm Sakura."

Temari blinked then smiled back. "I'm Temari."

"You're new here right?" Temari nodded. "That's cool. I've been going here, like, my whole life."

"Whoa…but that's cool too right? You know everyone and all that."

"Yeah, like see that boy right there?" Sakura pointed to a black haired boy with a blue shirt and white cargo pants. "That's Uchiha Sasuke. Isn't he cute?"

Temari looked. "He's not really my type," she said. "He looks too stuck up."

Sakura looked again as well. "I know," she said in a sad voice but her eyes were all sparkly.

"Too bad, Miss Wide-forehead! Sasuke-kun is mine!" said a blond girl sitting in front of them.

"Shut up, Ino-pig!" Sakura warned, her eyes shooting sparks that met the blonde's in mid air.

Temari couldn't help but laugh at them.

"Ladies, please pay attention!" Ebisu-sensei called from the front. "You can talk after I explain the lesson."

"Yes, sensei!" they said.

"So where are you from?" Sakura whispered, ignoring the teacher's order.

"My brothers and I came from Sunaga," Temari said. "We just moved here."

"Cool," Sakura said. "Who're your brother's? Maybe I've seen them."

Temari reached down and pulled out one of her binders and showed her the front cover where she had put a few pictures in. "This is my older brother Kankurou," she said pointing. "And this is my little brother Gaara."

"Hey, I know him," Sakura said, tapping Gaara's picture. "He's in my gym class, but he never gets dressed and he doesn't talk to anyone."

"Gaara hates gym," Temari stated, looking at the picture again.

"Hinata-chan told me," Ino said turning around again. "That her cousin's been trying to make friends with you all."

"Hinata….?" Temari thought for a moment.

"Hyuga Hinata, her cousin Neji."

"Oh yeah," Temari said, remembering the dark haired girl from the day before. "Neji's really nice."

"Oh, my god, yes. And he's hot!—but not as hot as Sasuke-kun," Sakura said, quickly. Ino nodded her agreement. "But… I think he's gay…why are nearly all the hot guys gay?"

"I know! But Neji's like the best soccer player we have here," Ino said.

"Oh, my god! I love watching them play!" Sakura said.

"Oh, my god! Me too!"

Temari looked from one to another. _'Wait…weren't they fighting a few minutes ago…? Weird girls…'_ But they were nice Temari decided and listened into their conversation about the boys in school.

(Hallway, sometime before 7th period)

"Gaara, hey!" Kankurou pushed though the crowd to his waiting brother. "What's up?"

Gaara shrugged. "Nothing," he mumbled his reply.

"Where're you going?" Kankurou asked, as they turned to mount the stairs.

"Grammar 9," Gaara said, shifting the weight on his shoulder. He turned to go into the side door at the '1 ½ floor'.

"Hey Gaara, wait," Kankurou pulled him aside, out of the flow of people. "Neji's been asking about you," he whispered.

"Everyone's been asking about me," Gaara retorted.

"Yeah I know, but he wants me to tell him stuff," Kankurou said, leaning against the wall. He shrugged. "I donno, you don't usually want people to know, but Neji said you've been talking to him."

Gaara was quiet as Kankurou waited for a reply of some sorts. "He paints good," he said finally.

"Paint's _well_," Kankurou corrected. "But, anyway, what do you think? I see Neji next period."

"….." Gaara looked down at the floor for a bit. "I donno," he said finally. "Not now."

Kankurou smiled. "That's ok, see ya later." He turned and went up to the 2nd floor while Gaara continued down the other hall. _'No, way, Gaara's making friends!'_ Kankurou thought to himself. He decided then that he would spur on this friendship, because he was a good brother. (hell yeah!)

* * *

"Hey dad?" Kankurou said at dinner that night. 

Their father looked up with a questioning look.

"Um, I've got this friend who's in my 7th period class, and he invited all three of us to come to his house to hang out this weekend," Kankurou said.

Temari and Gaara exchanged looks wondering who this friend was, while their father thought about it.

"Who is he?"

"His name is Hyuga Neji; he's a sophomore and lives about three blocks away from us. I have his number and his uncle's name if you want to call and talk to him."

Temari and Gaara's sweat dropped. _'Someone's thought this out..'_ was the though that ran through both their head.

"He lives with his uncle?"

"Uh, yeah…"

"Why?"

"Never asked."

"I guess its ok," he said finally. Temari and Gaara smiled broadly at this. "Why'd he invite all three of you?"

"We met him on our first day, he showed us around and we kinda became friends…I know his cousin too," Temari said. She discovered that Hinata was not only in her lunch but also sat next to her in family studies ("what the freak how did I not know who she was!").

Their father turned his eyes on Gaara, who shrunk into his chair. "He's in my art class.." he mumbled.

"You can go," he said, beginning to eat again.

All three kids mentally cheered. _'YES!'_

* * *


	3. Neji's House

**Vindicated**

Chapter 3: Neji's house

* * *

Gaara untangled himself from the mound of covers he was in when Kankurou woke him up the next morning. He had fallen asleep on the floor in Kankurou's room the night before. Kankurou must have covered him. Looking at the watch Kankurou had on the nightstand, he saw that is was only nine o'clock and he gave Kankurou a dirty look. Kankurou just grinned and told him the shower was open.

"Why do we have to get up this early on a Saturday?" he grumbled as he trudged down the hall to the shower.

"We're going over Neji's remember? Neji said that everyone in the family gets up at like six every morning and we could come whenever we wanted," Kankurou said from his desk.

Grumbling to himself, Gaara got in the shower while Temari went down stairs and made breakfast. Their father came down as she was finishing and took the plate of eggs and sausage off the counter.

"Um, dad…that was for Gaara..." she said.

"Hmph, he doesn't need it, he eats too much anyway," he said, walking away with the plate.

Temari made a rude gesture behind his back. _'You fucking bastard! Are you blind! He's like skin and bones!'_

She made more for all three of them, but she was now pissed off and glaring at the wall the whole time.

* * *

When Gaara stepped out of the shower he looked at himself in the mirror, touching his eye, then his side. The bruise on his head was gone, but his eye was still slightly swollen and his side was stiff. He didn't bother looking at his back. He could tell the bruises and scars were still there. Glaring at his reflection, he quickly pulled his shirt on and finished getting dressed. Right before he left the bathroom, his curiosity took over and he slowly inched back over to the mirror and looked himself over. His eyes widened when he saw very visible bruises on his arms. He covered them by wrapping his arms around each other and hurried out of the bathroom.

He met Kankurou in the hall as his brother was going down to eat. Kankurou smiled at him, but Gaara looked troubled so Kankurou asked what was wrong. Biting his lip, Gaara uncovered his arms and held them out.

"Can I borrow your hoodie?" Gaara asked quietly, covering them again. "I don't have a long sleeve shirt."

"Sure," Kankurou said, giving him a reassuring smile. He went into his room and came out with a black zip up hoodie. Gaara took it and pulled it on, zipping it up as well. Kankurou looked at him and tried to smile, but he could feel how fake it was and Gaara saw it too. Kankurou sighed as Gaara's shoulders slumped.

"I look bad don't I?" he asked.

"Not bad," Kankurou said, shaking his head. He put his arm around his brother's shoulders and led him down the stairs. "Just smaller then you should," he muttered, barely audible.

The two stopped short at the kitchen door when they heard their sister inside. Peaking in, they saw her practically surrounded in flames muttering angrily to her self. She was standing by the sink scrubbing at the poor helpless pot she had used to make the eggs.

"Uh…Temari?"

"WHAT!"

Kankurou and Gaara 'eeped' and ducked behind the wall, then peeked out again. "Are you ok?" Kankurou asked.

"What makes you think otherwise!" she demanded in a cold low voice.

"Nothing!" Gaara squeaked.

"Have no idea why I asked!" Kankurou squeaked.

"Alright then, your breakfast is on the kitchen table," she said pointing with the scrubber to the table.

"Ok," they said in little voices as they came in.

* * *

Ding dong!

A man dressed similar to the one who picked Neji and Hinata up in the limo opened the door and looked down his nose at them.

LONG silence.

"May I help you?"

"….uh…we're friends of Neji," Kankurou said. "He invited us over."

"Did he?"

"Yeah," Kankurou said, a bit freaked out by the monotone voice.

". . . . And who are you?"

"Kankurou?" he replied, totally freaked out.

The man looked down at Gaara next. "And you?"

Gaara swallowed and replied, "Gaara."

The man looked at Temari.

"Temari!" she shrieked in fright before he could say anything.

"I see." He said. "May I see your invitations?"

"It was a verbal invitation," Kankurou said.

"Was it?"

"….yah…."

"Please stop you're scaring me!" Temari whined.

"Follow me," he said turning and walking slowly down the hallway. The three siblings followed, unconsciously holding onto each other.

The Hyuga estate looked big on the outside, but the inside was enormous. It was built in a traditional Japanese style with paper doors and wooden floors (hey that rhymed!). There was a second floor however, and this was where the man led them, taking each step at a drastically slow pace. Kankurou frowned and began to loose patience.

"Can you go any slower?" he demanded, giving him a glare.

The man stopped and turned slowly to give him an expressionless glance. "Am I going to fast for you?"

He held a fist out and glared. "No! I want you to go faster!"

"I see." The man looked down at him then turned around and continued at the same pace up the rest of the stairs. He stopped at a door and knocked. "Neji-san, your guests have arrived."

The door opened and Neji smiled at them. "Hey, guys, what's up?" he opened the door wider and motioned them in.

The three slipped past the man in black and went in. Neji shut the door behind them and they all relaxed. Temari grabbed Neji but his shirt front.

"What the freak is up with your butler-people!"

"Oh that's just George he does that to everyone who comes over," Neji said casually.

"….."

The three siblings looked around Neji's room. It still had the same Japanese style architecture, but with some modernization. His bed was a futon in the corner with black sheets and comforters; also there was about fifty different pillows piled up at the head of the bed. There were two windows since Neji's room was at the side of the house: one big long one and one smaller on the right side of the room. In front of the big long one was an art desk littered with rough sketches of various things. There was an easel next to it, but it was empty. Posters of soccer players and pictures of his team mates and friends were scattered across all the walls. A book case stood by the smaller window, filled with mangas. There were several types of chairs in the room too: the desk chair, which went up and down and spun in circles, several beanie chairs, a small hammock in one corner and, by the bookcase, one of those spiffy chairs where the frame is made of metal and you hang that fuzzy thing over it to make a chair (like you can get at Claire© or Spencer's©).

"Wow…I like your room," Kankurou said.

"Sit down, make yourselves comfortable," Neji said motioned for them to take a seat anywhere.

"Neji," Hinata said calmly, poking her head in the door. "I was _told_ that Temari was here and I was wondering if she would like to _join_ me and a few other girls at the Avenue."

"Sure," Temari said. "What's the Avenue?"

"It's a side street with a whole lot of different stores and restaurants," Neji said.

"Cool," Temari waved to her brother and followed Hinata over to her room.

"So anyway…" Neji said, turning back to the brothers. "What kind of manga do you like?" he asked when Kankurou went over to his bookcase.

"Bleach is good, um…and I like Ranma ½," Kankurou said scanning the shelves.

"Have you read Fruits Baskets?" Neji asked, pointing them out (put in for Kage-chan). "They're pretty good. Whistle's good and Fushigi Yugi is real funny; so is Gravitations…if you...like that…kinda stuff…. (cough) yeah, Gaara, you like any manga?" The two boys turned to look at Gaara who had found his way to the hammock in the corner. They laughed at him.

"Comfortable?" Kankurou asked.

"Yah," Gaara replied, sprawled across it.

A knock sounded at the door. It opened and a tall man with long dark hair and the same white eyes as Neji and Hinata stepped in. He smiled at the three boys.

"Hi, Hiashi-ojisan," Neji said. "Um, this is my uncle, Hyuga Hiashi. Hiashi-ojisan, this is Kankurou and Gaara."

"Hi," both boys said in greeting.

"Good morning, boys," Hiashi said nodding his head. "Neji, why don't you three go out or something? It's a nice day out and I don't want you three inside all day."

"Ok," Neji said. "Can we go to the mall?"

"That kinda defeats the purpose of going outside, but ok," Hiashi said, nodding his good byes and shutting the door behind him.

The three immediately walked the ten minutes to the mall and began walking around. It had only been open for a small while, so there wasn't really anyone there. Kankurou seemed to be looking for something since the mall was new to him and finally asked Neji.

"Dude, do you have a Hot Topic in here?" he said still looking around.

"Yeah, it's on the second floor," Neji said leading them towards the escalators.

Neji had never been inside the store before and the loud music wasn't very welcoming to him. Kankurou seemed to enjoy the music; Neji noted when Kankurou mentioned that he knew this song (Pieces by Hoobastank) Neji waited outside while they went in.

Kankurou went though the large store, picking something up every once and while, Gaara in tow. Neji watched from where he stood as the smaller boy repeated over and over that he didn't want Kankurou buying him new clothes.

_What a strange pair of people_, Neji thought to himself. Then he frowned, examining the smaller boy closely. His clothes looked very old and big on him, like they were Kankurou's old clothes. Why would someone make their child wear such old clothes? He was glad Kankurou was buying him new clothes. He admitted he had first started trying to be friends with the three some to find out about their strangeness and secrets, which he'd discovered were many, but he found he was growing to like them. Like he liked his teammates. _Cool, _he thought_. I've got new friends._ He smiled at this. Kankurou was a bad ass, but cool to hang out with. Gaara was very shy, but Neji was determined to get through the little wall that surrounded the smaller boy.

"Hey Neji, we're gonna try stuff on," Kankurou called to him. "Be done in a sec."

"Take your time," Neji called back.

* * *

Kankurou led Gaara into the dressing room, closing and locking the door behind them. As he hung up the several hangers of clothes he saw Gaara's expression in the mirror. Sighing, he turned back to his brother.

"I don't want you buying my clothes," Gaara said through his sullen expression crossing his arms.

"And I don't care," Kankurou said tossing him a shirt. "Think of it as an early birthday present."

"My birthday's not for two weeks," Gaara said glaring.

"And?" Kankurou crossed his arms as well. He didn't like arguing with Gaara since he knew he would win each time. It made him feel guilty, but he wasn't going to back out. "Look, you need new clothes. Your old ones are horrible, and you need a jacket that'll fit you."

"But…but these are so expensive…" Gaara mumbled, loosing his steam already.

"Don't worry about it," Kankurou said turning away again.

"Where are you getting the money anyway?" Gaara asked.

Kankurou grinned over his shoulders and pointed to the clothes, then sat down. Gaara continued to frown at him as he took his shirt off and tossed it on the floor. He shook the new shirt out and pulled it on. Kankurou grimaced and looked away, unwilling to look at him. He knew _they_ were there, but that didn't mean he cared to look at them, knowing it made Gaara uncomfortable to show them to anyone, even him. Kankurou glanced back, noting that there were some new decorations on top of old ones acquired over the years.

Gaara slipped his arms through the t-shirt, catching Kankurou's attention. He saw something that made him jump up and grab Gaara's wrist, forcing the inside of his arm upwards.

"What _the fuck_ are these?" he demanded, holding onto the arm Gaara was trying to pull back.

"Nothing."

"I know nothing. These are not fucking 'nothing'!" Kankurou shouted.

Gaara looked away, embarrassed and half worried Kankurou would hit him. He looked mad enough. He didn't though, just continued to stare at the semi fresh cuts and scars crisscrossing his wrist. The skin around the cuts was still red and inflamed. After a long silence, Kankurou let go and sat back down on the bench. Gaara rubbed his wrist as if trying to brush away the cuts he seriously regretted having now.

"Just hurry up and finish," Kankurou said quietly.

* * *

Neji noticed the change in attitudes the second they stepped out of the dressing room. Kankurou paid for the clothes they chose and walked out of the store, with Gaara following like a shadow. As they continued down the mall, Gaara trailed behind the two boys. Every time Neji glanced back at him, he was staring at the floor, but Neji suspected he was looking at Kankurou the rest of the time.

Finally, Gaara mustered up the courage to give his brother's sleeve a tug. Kankurou stopped and turned to him.

"What?"

Gaara looked up at him then back down at the floor. "Are you really mad at me?" he asked quietly.

Kankurou sighed and thought about it for a while. "No. I'm not mad …. just …. disappointed. Don't you ever do it again."

Gaara gave him a small smile. "I wont."

Neji acted like he didn't hear. He didn't know what they were talking about and it wasn't his business anyway. Looking around, he noticed the sports store. "Let's go in there," he said.

Once they were inside, Neji made a bee line to the soccer section. Kankurou wandered around looking at nothing in particular. Like Neji with Hot Topic, he had no interest in what this store had to sell what so ever. Gaara once again followed in his shadow.

Seeing this, Neji thought fast and went over to drag Gaara back to the soccer section. Gaara seemed to realize that he was no where near his brother anymore and pulled back from Neji, staring at him like he was a complete foreign object.

"Watch this," Neji said, making a staying motion, then picked up a ball from a bag of soccer ball on the shelf.

He bounced the ball on the ground then began juggling it with his foot. He bounced it six times on his knee…then several times on the top of his foot, then on the inside of his other foot, then on his head a few times then began doing tricks. Gaara watched him, captivated, forgetting that Neji was a new person that might find out his secret, forgetting that Kankurou wasn't with him to make him feel safe. Neji allowed himself to show off to entertain Gaara since he saw that he was watching him, fascinated by his abilities. He slowed down then kicked it up and over to Gaara who caught it.

"That's something Coach has us do to get ball control," Neji told him. "I'm a floating starter so I have to have good control over the ball and I have to be fast."

"What's a floating starter?" Gaara asked looking over the ball.

"I can play any position Coach wants me too, so I float with the positions when we play, but I always start," Neji explained, on cloud nine.

"What do _you_ do with the ball?" Gaara asked.

"When I play offense I have to kick the ball into the other team's net. That's my favorite position cause you get to run a lot," Neji said droning on and on about the positions he played and liked. Gaara didn't mind though, no one had ever talked to him so much before that he could remember. He did learn with some amusement that even though Neji said offense was his favorite position, he actually loved playing all the positions. Gaara had never seen anyone so excited before, but he realized Neji must really like soccer and was glad he was willing to talk to him. "Come one, come on! I'll show you."

He took the ball from Gaara and led him into a wide area. He put the ball down and began kicking it around.

"You're not allowed to use your hands in soccer, so you really have to rely on your feet," Neji explained, dancing around, knocking the ball around. "Here," he passed the ball lightly to Gaara, who scrambled to catch it. "Not your hands," Neji said automatically.

"Sorry!" Gaara said dropping the ball like it was burning him.

He moved away from it and let Neji get it. Neji bounced it back up to his hands and smiled at him. "Have you ever played before?"

"I've never touched a soccer ball before."

Neji: "……………."

Gaara: "?"

Neji inwardly freaked out knowing from past experiences that freaking out on people outwardly wasn't always the best way to make friends. Biting his tongue he began trying to teach Gaara how to pass and kick the ball, but he learned that Gaara was serious when he said he hadn't touched a ball before and seriously sucked. But he seemed somewhat eager, though shy, to learn and Neji wouldn't pass up the chance to play.

Kankurou peeked out from behind a shelf where he had been watching, smiling to himself. How long had it been since he saw Gaara playing with another boy with a smile? Long time.

* * *

Neji led the two brothers to the food court to pick out lunch. Kankurou gave Gaara money then went to get his own. Gaara stared after him like a lost child. He was about to follow him when Neji took his arm.

"Do you like Chinese?" he asked, smiling.

Gaara shrugged shyly, not looking at him.

"Let's get some," Neji said leading him over to the Chinese place and ordered a 3 item combo platter. "You should get a combo too," he said turning back to Gaara. "You get to choose three of whatever you want."

"I—I can't eat that much," Gaara stammered quietly.

"You can get two instead of three, honey," the lady behind the counter said, smiling.

Gaara looked down, concentrating on the food in front of him. It all smelled so good. He finally picked, choosing the lo mein with bon bon chicken and an egg roll. They found a table and waited for Kankurou. Gaara offered to take the trash from their straws to the trash can. On the way back two teenagers bumped into him, yelling at him to watch where he was going. Gaara coward away, apologizing, but the two saw this and grinned to each other. Before they could do anything, Neji stepped in the middle and glared at them.

"Hyuga!" one said surprised, laughing a fake laugh. "What's up?"

"Get lost."

"Alright, geez!" they said, backing off. "It's his fault anyway."

"Don't matter does it?" Neji shoved his hands in his pockets, glaring daggers.

"Whatever man," they said leaving.

Neji huffed to himself and returned to the table, taking his anger out on his food. Gaara sat down too, embarrassed.

"You didn't have to do that," he stammered out.

"Why wouldn't I?" Neji asked looking up.

"You just…didn't have too…" was the reply.

Neji grinned mischievously. "You should have given them a glare and punched them. Right here," he pointed at his nose.

Gaara stared wide eyed at the thought and shook his head.

"Why not?" Neji asked. "Just a glare like this," he said, demonstrating. Neji smiled to himself as Gaara bit his lip trying not to laugh. After taking a drink of his soda, he glanced back over to the other boy. "Why you let those assholes walk all over you like that?"

Gaara tried to explain himself but only ended up stammering more and blushing, very thankful when Kankurou came back and sat next to him. He quickly stopped and shrank back into the silent comfort of his brother.

"What assholes?" he asked, catching the tale end of the conversation.

"Those boys over there. I think Gaara should knock them flat," Neji said, pointing the where the two boys were leaning against the railing.

"Why?" Kankurou asked after he looked. "They bothering you guys?"

Gaara shook his head at once. "I bumped them," he said quietly.

"No you didn't," Neji said, his face full of noodles. "They ran into _you_. You didn't do anything, they were being asses."

Kankurou turned slowly and looked pointedly and accusingly at Gaara, clearing his throat as he did. Gaara bit his lip, then nibbled on his egg roll to occupy himself. Kankurou sighed shaking his head and ate his pizza. Neji watched them, eyebrow raised, wonder what was going on.

* * *

They stayed at the mall until three in the afternoon. When they got home, the girls had gotten back (all with their hair done, nails painted, an new clothes) already and were sitting in the living room chatting their girly heads off. They all squealed happily in greeting when the boys came in, sporting bags of clothes, comic books and cds. They all seemed very interested to know what they got, for reasons the boys could not figure out.

Suddenly, a pink blur popped up in Gaara's vision. "Hi, Gaara, do you remember me?" she asked.

Gaara blinked and stared at her, thinking hard. Should he remember her? Nothing came to mind, but that was ok since she seemed eager to answer her own question.

"I'm Haruno Sakura (heart), I'm in your Gym class," she said smiling. "You might not remember me cause you never come play, but that's ok. Not many people do. Anko-sensei must like you…she usually doesn't let people not get dressed two days in a row. Although, Thursday doesn't really count for you cause you just got there. Are you gonna get dressed on Monday? You so should! Ino's in our class too. So are these two boys your age they're real cool. A little weird but cool."

Gaara wasn't sure how to respond to this, but he didn't really feel like it. So he kept silent, but that didn't seem to faze her in the slightest. She pulled him over to sit with her and Temari on the sofa. Neji and Kankurou each found seats as well and the two 'sides' compared the things they bought.

They were laughing at some random thing when Hinata's mother came in.

"I'm so glad to hear you all having such a good time," she said smiling. "But Temari's father called and he wants you guys home."

A series of complaint filled the room. She held up her hand in her defense.

"I tried asking if they could stay for dinner, but wanted them home, I'm sorry," she said.

The three siblings gathered their things and said good bye and thanking Neji for inviting them. He, of course, said they could come over whenever they wanted to. Kankurou said he'd hold him to it, grinning evilly but jokingly.

As they walked home Temari rattled on about what she and the girls did at the Avenue. When she was out of breath she asked them how their day was.

"We went to the mall and I got new clothes and Neji taught me how to play soccer," Gaara said, surprising them both by speaking up first. "I'm not good at all, but Neji still wanted to play."

Temari smiled widely at him. She, like Kankurou, was also pleased Gaara had made a friend. She also had made several friends that day. All in all it was simply a great day for all and not even having to go home early could dampen their day now.

* * *


	4. The Forgotten Birthday

**Vindicated**

Chapter four: The forgotten birthday

Ah...gomen gomen for taking so long. I'm kinda grounded and not allowed on the computer. (shukaku: and one must ask why you're on now) ahem...on with the chapter!

ooh! did anyone else see the toonami preview for Naruto? yatta! I'm so excited! I know people are upset about the voices and all but I don't really care.

* * *

(**4th period Gym-Gaara**) 

"Hi Gaara!"

Gaara looked up in surprise from where he sat on the bleachers. Sakura was running up to him with a big smile on her face. She had a bag in her hand was looked thoroughly pleased with herself.

"Hi Sakura," Gaara replied.

"You're back! I've been worried! Guess what!"

"What?" he asked, curiously.

"You're going to play with us today," she said, brightly.

Gaara frowned, turning away and biting his lip. "I don't want to," he told her. The shorts and t-shirt revealed too much of himself for him to be comfortable.

"I don't care."

Gaara's face turned into the 'damn it' anime face. He'd heard that before. It meant he didn't have a choice in the matter.

"Look, look!" she shoved the bag into his lap. "I thought that maybe you didn't like to wear the shorts and stuff or something. Lots of people don't like wearing shorts. I do, I wear them all the time," here Gaara leaned down to rest his head on his hands. This could take a while. "Well, I mean, when I'm not wearing skirts or it's too cold to wear shorts. I mean it is winter and all that so I haven't been wearing any lately, but maybe you didn't cause I know Tenten doesn't like wearing shorts or skirts and she's a girl and you might be the same cause you're a boy. So, anyway, I talked to Anko-sensei and she got you a special uniform." She patted the bag on his lap. "Go change," she said pushing him towards the boys locker room.

Inwardly groaning and wondering how Sakura doesn't die from lack of breath, Gaara walked into the locker room and searched for his locker. Thankfully it was in the back where the left over lockers for late transfers were, where no one could watch him change. Taking out the clothes she gave him and quickly glancing around. Seeing no one, he quickly pulled his shirt off and pulled the new one on, just as fast. It was a small, but still made him look small himself. He switched pants next, noting that his new ones were the kind of athletic pants Neji wore a lot, though in his opinion they looked better on Neji then on his scrawny body, but they were light and also comfortable to move in.

After shoving his things in his locker, he looked into the mirror, making sure no marks or scars could be seen. He then quickly headed towards the door. All the boys stared at him as he passed. Two weeks had gone by and they hadn't seen him dress once. Gaara left the room as fast as he could and went to hide on the bleachers.

Two weeks… had they really been there that long? Gaara stared up at the ceiling deep in thought. Yeah they had been there two weeks, but he had missed all of last week and most of this week; so, technically, he'd only been there for two days.

Gingerly, he reached down and touched himself. Everywhere still hurt from last Sunday. He laughed quietly to himself. Blood Sunday, isn't that the song they played this morning before homeroom? Yes it was. And that was what it had been. His father's friends had come over that night. They'd gotten drunk and things got rough. On top of that, his father had found the new clothes and decided that he stole money from him and punished him for that as well. Temari and Kankurou lied the whole time he was out to their father, telling him he was at school or at a friend's house, while he was really in Kankurou's room, where their father never went. Not wanting to stay in the house anymore, Gaara insisted on coming to school that day. He was glad Sakura had gotten him long pants. His legs had large bruises on them and were almost as thin as his arms. Sighing sadly, Gaara wrapped his arms around his drawn up knees and buried his face in them. His thoughts and quiet peace was interrupted when Anko-sensei came over after she had started the class running warm ups.

"Gaara-san, I'm very happy your back and I appreciate you dressing today, but I'd like it if you would participate," she said.

Gaara sighed and stiffly stood up. Instead of jogging however, he decided to just walk. It still hurt to move, let along run. However, some people didn't want him to walk.

"Hey new kid!" said a loud voice behind him.

Turning, he saw a kid with spiky blond hair and bright blue eyes jogging in place behind him.

"Why aren't you running?" he asked.

Gaara didn't answer. Another boy, apparently the blond's friend, came up on his other side.

"Running's fun," the other boy said.

Gaara still didn't answer, hoping they'd just go away. They didn't. Instead they both grabbed his arms and wrist and began running dragging him along. The healing cuts and bruises wrenched, it was all he could do to keep the tears that jerked to his eyes from falling.

Unintentionally, he yelled at them angrily to stop. Surprised, they did and asked what was wrong. Again, he didn't answer them. Turning, he ran into the gym's side hallway where the water fountains were. Wrapping his arms around himself to try to repress the pain shooting through his whole body, he slumped down against the wall to the floor and stayed there, shaking horribly and trying to even out his breath again.

A few minutes later, Sakura came into the hallway with Ino and the two boys.

"Gaara-kun, are you ok?" she asked.

Gaara nodded.

"Sorry man," the second boy, who had dark brown hair and red marks on his face, said. "We didn't mean to pull so hard." The blond nodded his agreement.

Gaara continued to stare at the floor and mumbled that it was ok. They hadn't pulled hard, but he wasn't about to tell them that.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto," said the blond. "And this is Inuzuma Kiba."

"Gaara," came the quiet reply.

"Hey! You know what? You're in our 1st period class!" Naruto said.

Gaara nodded. He knew. He'd seen him earlier that morning complaining about work to Genma. Kiba was in there too. He sat next to the boy who never talked and wore sunglasses inside.

Sakura and Ino knelt down in front of him. "You wanna come play with us?" Sakura asked. "We wont do anything big, just pass the ball around." She held her hand out for him to take.

"Wont you be bored just passing the ball around?" he asked them.

"No. Duh!" Ino said, casually flick-waving her hand. "You could seriously break something doing that! Like a nail or something!"

Gaara stared up at her almost laughing. She was serious. He took Sakura's hand and she hauled him up to his feet. They pushed him back into the gym and Kiba went and found a ball. They moved to their own little space and started bouncing the ball to each other chatting away.

"Hey, Hinata told me you hang out with her cousin," Kiba said to Gaara.

"I went over his house on Saturday, but 2nd period today was the first time since then I've seen him," Gaara replied passing the ball to Ino.

"Yeah, where've you been!" Sakura asked. "You've been gone for, like, forever."

"Sick." Gaara mumbled, not looking at her.

"I can't believe you went over _Neji's house_," Ino squealed.

Gaara looked confused for a minute. "But…you were there too," he reminded her.

"Yeah, but I was with Hinata-chan," Ino said. "You were hanging out with Neji! Do you realize how _lucky_ you are?"

Gaara shook his head.

"You were with _Neji_," she screeched in a quiet voice. "He's like one of the hottest guys in school! Why did you get to do it?"

"I—I'm sorry…" Gaara replied, starting to fear her frantically insane voice.

"Hey Gaara, you know how Kiba knows Hinata?" Naruto said changing the subject. A mischievous grin plastered on his face.

Gaara shrugged.

"She's like his girlfriend," Naruto said.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Kiba argued. "She's just a friend who happens to be a girl. Just like….Haku's a boy that happens to be gay. This makes the world diverse."

As Gaara wondered who this Haku was, a sudden voice sounded from behind Kiba.

"Why does it matter if I'm gay?"

Gaara looked up at the kid standing behind the boy. Gaara had seen a lot of interesting people in his life. Lots of strange boy. Lots of strange girls. Lots of normal boys and lots of normal girls. This person however, beat them all. He didn't fit any category. He was his own category. Gaara tilted his head to one side and peered. This guy was definitely … genderless. Yes he was wearing a boys gym uniform. Yes he was on the boys side. Yes Kiba said Haku was a boy. But Haku did not look like a boy and Gaara was very confused. Wait, didn't Kankurou have a word for these? 'poigs', person of indeterminate gender. That's what it was. Haku was a 'poig'.

"Hey Haku," the four replied.

"Ooh, who's this?" Haku asked when he caught sight of Gaara.

"This is Gaara, he just moved here," Kiba said. "Gaara, Haku."

Haku peered at Gaara leaning WAY into his personal bubble. He had a funny look in his eyes he later found out from Sakura were called 'bedroom eyes'. Gaara swallowed hard, feeling suddenly nervous.

"Is that so?" he practically purred.

Gaara broke out in a sweat.

"Welcome to the school," he said leaning in closer. "I could show you around if you want."

Gaara was near freaking out and was extremely thankful when Sakura and Ino pulled him away from that long haired….poig.

"Geez, Haku…don't molest the kid on his first day back!" Ino said glaring.

Haku stared at her poking his fingers together with a 'aren't I cute? Why are you yelling at me?' face. "Why would I do that? Is that all you really think I am? Ino-chan your so mean!" he glared at her. "Fine I'll leave!"

Haku gave a humph and walked away, but not before tilting his head so he could see Gaara and gave him a smile and a wink.

The four turned back to Gaara who had officially turned to stone.

"Gaara-san! Please come here!" Anko-sensei called from where she stood with her clip board.

Sakura and Ino pushed Gaara over to her.

"That's Haku?" Gaara said in a funny voice.

"Yep!"

"You don't seem to like him that much…"

"What makes you think that?" Sakura asked.

"We've been friend since like we were in like kindergarden and he was like in 3rd grade. He lives like right next door," Ino said, smiling.

"…oh…." Gaara said still stone.

"I need your information," Anko said, smiling as they came up to her. "What's your birthday?"

Silence.

"Gaara?"

Sakura poked him.

"Huh?" Gaara blinked and came out of his daze.

"Birthday?"

"Oh…um…January 19th—"

"Tomorrow!" Sakura asked, happily.

Gaara was quiet for a while. "…….yes…tomorrow…"

Anko smiled at him. "Fourteen?"

Gaara nodded.

Anko got the rest of his information such as his height and weight, etc. Gaara answered or did what she asked him, but he became distant and very quiet. When they were done, Gaara didn't feel like playing anymore and snuck off into the locker room, changed back into his clothes and stayed there until all the other boys came into the room to change themselves. He slipped up the stairs and out the gym door. He had lunch next, but instead of going to the cafeteria, he went into his hiding spot, where he could sit and not be stared at by all the kids in the cafeteria, in between the vending machines to eat the lunch Temari packed.

He ate a few small bites of the sandwich, but his stomach hurt and wasn't hungry so he put it down. He hadn't eaten in a while, but he still didn't feel like eating. His father was punishing him for sneaking food from the kitchen. Temari and Kankurou snuck him as much food as they could, but their father could always tell and yelled at them and punished him later. He was starving, but he couldn't force the food down.

Tomorrow was his birthday, he'd forgotten. Kankurou and Temari would do something tomorrow morning before school or later in the night; they always did. But his father was always harsher around his birthday. He didn't know why.

Shaking his head to clear the thoughts away, he looked out and watched the people walk by, completely oblivious to his presence.

Great.

Now he was depressed.

* * *

(**7th period English Neji Kankurou**) 

"WHAT!"

"Neji-san! One more out burst from you will get you standing in the hall!"

"Sorry sensei," Neji said, sitting back down. He turned to the amused Kankurou and said in a much quieter voice, "tomorrow's Gaara's _birthday_?"

"Yep," Kankurou said, grinning.

"We should have a party," Hinata commented, voice low and calm as usual, as she tucked a lock of hair back behind her ear, only to let it fall right back in front of it.

Neji nodded eagerly.

"A sleepover!" Kiba put in excitedly. "No wait!...A SURPRISE sleepover!"

"Gaara's never had a party or been to a sleepover before," Kankurou mused aloud absentmindedly.

"NO!" the two boys cried in shock, while Hinata simply raised an eye brow.

"Our family's not big on birthdays…and Gaara's never really had friends before," Kankurou explained.

"Well, he's got lots of friends now," Kiba said. He held out his fingers and began counting. "Me (they just met, but that was enough for Kiba), Naruto (see last (…)), Sakura, Ino, Neji and Hinata and I guess Haku, but I'm not sure we should invite him….but then again he'll come anyway… That's a bunch of people, and everyone likes parties so…."

Neji suddenly stood and raised his hand. "Sensei, I forgot, I need to use the phone to call my uncle about something important. May I do that now?" he asked.

"Take the pass."

Neji went downstairs. As he passed though the second floor (why someone made a school where you have to pass through each floor to get to the next was beyond him), he happened to glance into one classroom and saw Gaara sitting at his desk. He smiled as he peeked in at him, but it disappeared when he saw his expression. The redhead looked very upset or depressed and was staring at his desk. Every once and a while, he touched his stomach and side, wincing slightly at every touch.

**Flashback of when Neji saw Gaara's face in the 7/11**

**Flashback of when they first saw each other in the office, Gaara rubbing his neck**

'_Bruises…'_ Neji stared wide-eyed again. _'What the hell…?'_

Turning back he quickly ran down the hallway and downstairs to the nearest phone. He dialed the number and waited.

"Hyuga Hiashi's office."

"Hi, I'd like to speak to my uncle please; this is Neji," he said into the phone.

"Hold on."

….pause….

"Good afternoon, Neji. Is something wrong?"

"No nothing's wrong. I just have a favor."

"I'm listening."

"I just found out that Gaara's birthday is tomorrow and I was wondering if we could have a sleepover tomorrow night at the house for him."

"Of course, that's a good idea."

"But if I give you the number, will you call their dad when you're free and ask him? Kankurou doesn't think he'll let them go to a sleepover."

"I will call him tonight."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Get back to class."

* * *

Gaara looked up from where he laid on the floor doing his homework when a knock sounded at Kankurou's door. Kankurou had his head phone's on, so he got up and went over to the door and opened it, surprised to see his father. 

"Why did I even give you a room of your own?" the man demanded the instant he saw his youngest son. Gaara started to stammer out an answer, but was interrupted. "I just got off the phone with a Mr. Hyuga Hiashi."

Gaara swallowed, finding his voice. "That's Neji's uncle," he said.

"Yes…he wants the three of you to come over to a sleepover with a few kids from school," he said, peering down at him. He frowned as Gaara's face lit up. Unable to stand his cheerful face, he lashed out smacking him across the face. "Get that stupid look off your face."

Gaara bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut. Behind him Kankurou took his head phones off, anticipating.

"Do you want to go?"

Gaara stared, wondering how to answer.

"Answer me!"

"Yes! I—I want to go…" he looked down at the floor.

His father humphed and looked over him at Kankurou. Gaara stayed where he was, rubbing the red mark on his face, as his father told Kankurou the same thing. Casually, Kankurou said he remembered Neji saying something like that. Their father paused, then glanced back at Gaara, then returned to Kankurou.

"I'm allowing the three of you to go. Go home with the two Hyuga children tomorrow."

"Alright," Kankurou said, annoyance dripping in his voice, like he didn't care and wanted his father to leave.

Gaara watched their father walk away down the hall into his room before closing the door to Kankurou's room.

"How'd you do that?"

"Do what?"

"…..he…he said yes…"

Kankurou shrugged, taking the head phone out of his stereo so they both could listen. Gaara sat down next to the bed and leaned his head against it, sighing. Kankurou frowned at his homework and reached over, ruffling Gaara hair. He could tell that wasn't the 'how'd you do that?' Gaara had meant. If Gaara had talked to his father like that … Kankurou didn't want to think about that.

Kankurou's cell phone rang. Closer, Gaara reached over and picked it up. Glancing at the screen he held it up for his brother.

"Ichu Meato." Gaara said. "Who's that?"

"Here," Kankurou took the phone. "Yeah?" he said into it. "….what? are you serious?...when….alright I'll be there." Kankurou hung up and got off the bed. "I have to go. I'll be back later, kay?"

"Where're you going?"

"…out…"

Gaara watched him walked out and heard him open and shut the front door. Now bored, he got up himself and went downstairs and out into the back yard. Not tired at all, he climbed into a tree where he stayed the night, deep in thought.

He watched as the sun came up the next morning. When it did he smiled at it, rather sadly, and quietly sang happy birthday to himself as the first lights of morning spread from the top of the tree down to where he sat near the bottom.

After he finished he must have fallen asleep, because the next thing he knew he hit the ground after being dragged out of the tree.

"What the fuck are you doing out here?"

'_..oh, shit…'_

A hand reached out and grabbed a handful of his hair, wrenching him upwards. His father continued to shout at him, but Gaara was to preoccupied with the pain from his hair to listen. A fist connected with his stomach, causing him to loose whatever was left of his meager dinner from last night. Ignoring this, his father turned and went back into the house, a firm grip still on Gaara's hair. When Gaara started to cry out in pain, his father stopped and turned, grabbing his face and roughly forcing him to look at him.

"I don't want to hear another sound out of you," was the only warning he gave before continuing back to the house, dragging Gaara with him.

Later when Temari came down to make breakfast she found Gaara under the table, leaning against the wall. As she leaned down to asking if he was alright, he quickly wiped his eyes and smiled saying he was fine. He tried to not let Temari see that he had been crying. She did, but didn't say anything.

He crawled out and, as he stood, she hugged him and whispered 'happy birthday' in his ear.

Half of Gaara wanted to know what was there to be happy about. The other half wanted to start crying again because she remembered. He did neither though. He simply hugged her back and said thank you.

Kankurou came into the room just as Temari finished packing their breakfast. He looked exhausted and blindly, half asleep, went over to the coffee maker and poured himself a cup of coffee. After he had a few large gulps of the dark liquid, Kankurou smiled at them and told Gaara happy birthday, smiling wider.

Gaara watched them from the stool where he had sat watching Temari make breakfast. Something was different about them, but he wasn't sure what it was. When it was time to go they picked up their book bags and bags of spare clothes. As they walked outside, they found their father waiting for them but his car.

"What time are you coming back tomorrow?" he asked.

"Sometime before lunch I guess," Temari said.

"All three of you?"

"…..why wouldn't we come together?" Kankurou demanded.

Their father paused, glaring at Kankurou, who didn't stand down from his glare at all, but glared back. Their father broke the staring contest by scoffing at them and getting in his car. He drove off, coming so close to them that Gaara had to jump back to avoid getting hit. As the car disappeared around the corner, Kankurou gave him the finger.

"…asshole…" he muttered, putting his head phones on.

* * *

(**Homeroom-Gaara**) 

Gaara sat down in homeroom and opened the box Temari had given him. It was pancakes, he had watched her make them, but these had chocolate chips and little banana slices in them. He got a funny look on his face (dots for eyes and question marks floating around his head). When had she put them in? He'd been watching her the whole time…

Shrugging it off, he poured the syrup Temari had packed on top and scarfed up all three before the bell rang.

* * *

The day continued, passing slowly for everyone. Kankurou, Temari and a select few others were all looking forward to the party that night. Gaara was depressed all day, despite the pancakes and Temari's hug. None of his friends acknowledged his birthday; not even Sakura and Ino who knew about it said anything. He was use to this, no one before besides his siblings said anything about his birthday, but maybe he was just expecting more this year then he should've.

* * *

Hinata's father sent a black suv to pick the five of them up after school and take them to the house. After dropping their stuff off, Temari and Kankurou said they had forgotten something and left Gaara with Neji, who took Gaara out back. 

"You wanna play some?" Neji asked, taking the ball from where he'd last left it.

"No, thanks…sorry," Gaara said sitting in the shade of a tree.

"Just a little? It's awfully boring to play alone," Neji said, tossing the ball from one hand to another.

"No," Gaara replied, still feeling depressed. "Sorry…I just don't wanna."

"Alright," Neji said and began kicking the ball from one end of the big yard to the other, chasing after it or tackling it, practicing each of the positions. He looked pretty ridiculous to Gaara, but he seemed to be having fun. Gaara zoned out watching him, but came back quickly when Neji called, "Catch!" before kicking the ball.

The ball was moving slowly and Neji was pretty far away. He could have caught it, it wasn't going to hurt him in the slightest, but Gaara reacted by covering his face with his arms and letting it hit him and fall to the ground. Concerned, Neji ran up to him and knelt down in front of him. The redhead was shaking, though he didn't appear to be hurt.

"Sorry," Gaara said, not looking at him.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Liar," Neji said moving so he could see his face better. "What's wrong?"

"I just don't want to play!" Gaara said insisted in an upset voice. Neji didn't move. He just waited patiently. Gaara glanced up at him from the corner of his eye. "…..do you know…what today it?"

"Friday," he replied, smiling, like he was a total genius.

"Yeah," Gaara said looking back down.

Neji sighed sadly. He'd wanted to keep it a secret, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't stand the expression on Gaara's face. He placed his hand's on Gaara's drawn up knees and rested his head on his hands so that all Gaara could see of his face was his nose and eyes.

"I know what today is," he said in a teasing voice.

Gaara blinked and looked up at him. "You do?"

"Yep. It's January 19th."

Gaara: ultimate depression.

"I'm kidding!" Neji cried laughing, sitting back on the grass. "Happy birthday. I'd sing, but I'm actually not that good…"

They say people can forget things when they get old, but can remember one specific thing about a person. The thing Neji would never forget would definitely be the way Gaara's face lit up so happily when he said that.

* * *


	5. I'll Tell You

**Vindicated**

Chapter 5: I'll tell you

* * *

When Temari and Kankurou came back to Neji's house, they snuck upstairs to Neji's room before coming down to the kitchen where Gaara and Neji sat, munching on snacks. They stopped before entering, watching their brother shyly converse with the older boy. Neji was telling him about a game he liked that was similar to what he did in soccer. He called it Hacky Sack and promised to teach Gaara how to play. The smaller boy looked down at his cookie and mumbled that he could try. Exchanging glances, they entered, smiling and gave Neji a look behind Gaara's back.

They went out again, this time taking Gaara with them. The three went to a restaurant that was supposed to be of Gaara's choice, but ended up being Kankurou's. They stayed out for about an hour and a half, before walking back to the Hyuga household, talking happily to themselves. When they got there, Kankurou opened the door to the house and pushed the other in.

"Why's it so dark in here?" Temari asked, loudly, grinning at Kankurou over Gaara's head.

"Where is everyone?" Gaara asked looking around.

"I donno, lets go in the living room," Kankurou said, pushing Gaara ahead of them.

"…why?"

Kankurou flicked the living room lights on.

"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Gaara yelped aloud as he jumped and stared as a whole bunch of people jumped out from their hiding places and cheered.

Neji grinned from where he sat with his camera, as he took a picture. _'What a priceless face,'_ he said to himself laughing.

Gaara glanced around, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Kankurou put his arm around his brother and laughed. Temari hugged him, laughing as well. Gaara really didn't know what to do. His mind wasn't working at all, so he just stood there as everyone rushed to him, hugging and congratulating him. Sakura was the last to hug him, and she smiled as he looked at her. He looked totally lost and unable to grasp what was going on.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "Aren't you surprised?"

"Wha—….Ye—I—I thought you…" Gaara stuttered, pointed around, completely lost.

"Gaara!" she cried as if she was offended. "You didn't think we'd forget your birthday, did you?"

"I—I don't…"

"Silly!" she cried. After giving her mini shirt a little tug to straighten it, she continued. "Kankurou told Neji about it in class yesterday and Kiba thought of the sleepover. Ino and I already wanted to do something and we got together with our lunch table this morning and started planning, but then Hinata said that Neji and Kiba had already thought of the sleepover. We thought that was a good idea. Then Ino told Shikamaru, who told Chouji, who told Kiba, who already knew, but he told Shino, who didn't tell anyone cause he doesn't talk, and thus ending that gossip chain, but he came though. Well, Haku sits at our table, so of course we told him, and he told his friend Zaku—isn't that funny? Haku and Zaku? We thought it was funny when Haku first introduced him to us, we teased him for like forever, but anyway, Zaku told Dosu, who of course told Kin cause their like best friends, and Zaku has THE biggest crush on her. Kin told her sister, Tayuya, who told her best friend Kidomaru, who's got six arms for some reason, but who really cares, who told Sakkon, who told his like completely identical twin Ukon, who told Jiroubou, and Kimimaro just showed up cause he does that a lot and we never have any idea how he finds out about these things but he like IN THE LOOP! And we dragged Sasuke here, because….everyone else is coming and we wanted Sasuke here. Oh, and Neji brought Lee cause their friends…oh, and Neji brought his soccer team and Genma-sensei came but he's only staying for an hour or so." GASP FOR BREATH. "Look! Look! WE brought food!" she dragged him over to the table with food.

"Look! Hinata's mom made a big cake for you!" Ino said dragging Gaara out of Sakura's grasp and over to another table.

"We brought presents!" Naruto and Kiba cried dragging him over to another table.

Gaara: Swirly eyes

"Gaara?" Sakura and Ino shook him. "Look presents!"

Gaara looked down at then incredibly large pile of presents. _'whoa…'_ He didn't take his eyes off them, afraid they'd disappear if he did. He had presents. Lots of them. And they were _his_. He could see his name on the cards of tags.

"So!" said one of the lavender-haired twins, looking around with a big grin on his face, one hand on his hip and the other holding a present. "Who's the birthday boy?"

"…That would be the person they're all dragging around, Ukon," the other twin said in a monotone.

The twin named Ukon turned and saw Gaara.

'…_I just got a chill,' _Gaara thought as the twin zoomed over, colliding with the smaller boy. The guy just screamed GAY! But somehow, wasn't really… I mean, his other brother wore a pretty beaded red necklace for crying out loud, I think that made Ukon a little more manly…

"I got you a present!" Ukon shouted excitedly, bestowing a fore mentioned gift on Gaara with the air of one bestowing the gift of sight to the blind. "It's a knife!"

Kankurou went bug eyed and his mouth dropped open.

"But wait, there's more!" Ukon continued, assisting Gaara in the unwrapping of the present. "Oh, you go too slow! Ok!" He lifted the Bowie-style knife out of the box and unsheathed it. "Behold!" He waved it around.

Everyone who had ducked at the thought of a psycho wielding a huge knife looked up again to stare in disbelief.

"BUBBLES!" Ukon said in a rather loud voice as the knife did, indeed, somehow spout bubbles.

'…_..whoa.'_ Gaara stared as thousands of little bubbles floated around above him before settling down to pop on him or the floor around him. Ukon proudly handed the knife over to him as if he was knighting him or something. Gaara stared at the knife in awe, giving it a little swing. _'…wow…'_

"Ukon, get over here!" Sakkon said in a long suffering voice, pointing to a chair.

Ukon pouted and sat down with his arms crossed.

"Gaara, say thank you," Sakura said from where she was hanging on him.

"Huh?"

"He'll come back next time too!" she said, grinning.

"Thanks," Gaara said.

"You are welcome, birthday boy!" Ukon said giving him thumbs up.

Sakkon bopped him on the head. "He's got a name, stupid!"

"He does?"

"Duh."

"What is it?"

"…………"

"Ok, birthday boy! Open the rest!" Ukon said ignoring his brother.

"No lets eat first!"

Everyone looked at Gaara, who blushed darkly at all the attention, for him to decide.

"……uh…."

"He wants to eat first!" Ino cried, shoving him over to the food table.

"No! open the presents first," Ukon protested.

Ino and Sakura: FIREY PIT OF HELL!

"Then again, I am rather hungry….."

And then came the who-gets-to-sit-next-to-Gaara fight. Sakura and Ino both wanted to sit next to him, but they also wanted to sit next to Sasuke and also have a good view of the soccer players. Haku wanted to sit next to Gaara for obvious reasons, but Ino and Sakura wouldn't let him ("sob sob Ino-chan!"). Then Kankurou found out that _that_ was Haku and wanted him to sit at the complete far end of the table, but he somehow found a seat three seats down from Gaara. Neji wanted to sit next to Gaara because he felt as though this was his idea and his house (sort of) and he wanted to sit next to him. Gaara wanted Neji to sit next to him because Neji was his friend, but he also wanted to sit next to Temari and Kankurou, but he also wanted Sakura to sit next to him and Ukon seemed very eager to talk to him and Gaara was just on mental over load so he sat down at his place and let them all fight it out. In the end, Temari and Kankurou sat next to Gaara and Neji sat next to Kankurou and Sakura sat next to Temari. The other's seats don't count so we'll continue.

Although the Hyuga family provided many different assortments of food, everyone brought something themselves, to contribute, so there was a fricking lot of food. But there were also a fricking lot of people there and so everyone ate until they remembered, 'hey there's still cake!' So Genma and Hiashi brought the cake over and set it in front of Gaara and lit the candles. Everyone sang happy birthday to him, which he decided was one of the most embarrassing event of his entire life, and made him blow out the candles and 'make a wish' (Gaara: wtf?). Hinata's mom cut the cake and passed out pieces for everyone and piled ice cream on top as well.

(Shukaku's random note: holy freak! That's 38 fricking people at Gaara's first birthday party!)

As everyone started slowing down on the eating, Ukon wasn't the only one getting impatient for the presents. Kiba and Naruto started complaining, then Temari started suggesting, then Kankurou decided for the group that it was time to open presents. Gaara glanced up at him when he made the announcement, then down at his plate. Kankurou physically lifted him out of his chair and sat him down in a big chair. Gaara gave Kankurou a funny look and continued to eat his ice cream and cake which he grabbed when Kankurou picked him up.

"I'm not finished eating," Gaara stated.

"Oh, you can multitask!" Kankurou said. "….or Ukon could open them all for you," he added as Ukon began examining all the presents. _'Is this kid really 18?...geez…'_

Ukon brought Gaara a present. "This one looks interesting I think you should open it first…or I could."

Gaara held his hand out for the present and Ukon begrudgingly handed it to him.

"Wow," Haku said to Sakkon. "You're brother hasn't changed…"

"You should see him on his birthday. He opens mine and then he opens his," Sakkon said again in monotone. "And then he tries to keep them all….even the sock and underwear."

"I see," Haku said, preparing to defend all of Gaara's helpless presents.

As it turned out, the first present was from Chouji. It was a bag of Hershey kisses, except Chouji thought he was supposed to go through and wrap each Hershey kiss individually and then wrapped the whole thing in tin foil, which was why it looked so interesting.

"Now open mine!" Ukon ordered.

"…" Sakkon smacked a hand over his eyes. "You already gave it to him, Ukon."

Ukon looked like his life had lost purpose. "I DID?"

"Yes. You did. Thus robbing you of the chance to go last."

"When did _Ukon_ ever want to go last?" Haku asked.

"On our last birthday."

"What was the present?" Haku asked curiously.

"Pantyhose!" Ukon cried, over-hearing.

"…Wha?"

"We were going to go burgle something because we were 18 and wanted an adult sentence," Sakkon said in a monotone.

**Flashbacks**

"_Alright, Mr Decrepit Shop Owner Person!" Ukon shouted, holding a bubble gun to the shop-owner's head. "I want this and this!" He threw a pack of gum and a soda on the counter. "And I ain't payin'!"_

"_We're adults now," Sakkon said coolly. "At least steal something cool."_

_Ukon thought for a moment. "And I want a cup of Java, too!" he added, grabbing a cup._

**End flashback**

"But for some reason, we didn't even get in trouble!" Ukon said, waving his hands. "Wasn't that a crime we did?"

"…we stole about three bucks worth of stuff."

"SO?"

"…" Sakkon got out his keys. "Look, Ukon," he said, jingling them.

Ukon's eyes widened. "GIMME!" He snatched them, then ran off to his own little "spot" in the room to look at them where no one else could see them because they were HIS keys now, dammit!

Back to Gaara.

"Those guys are weird," Kankurou said, raising an eyebrow.

"I like them!" Gaara said with a small grin.

Haku: (STAB) UKON HOW DARE YOU STEAL GAARA FROM ME?

"…He didn't belong to you in the fir—OH YEAH, MORE PRESENTS!"

Now, people may think everyone was annoyed by Ukon's behavior. Actually, Sakkon was the only one annoyed, and that was because he was the only one who had to admit that he and Ukon had the exact same genes. Anyway. Everyone else liked him a lot.

Back to the presents.

"This…" Hinata said slowly, giving a present to Gaara before Ukon could pick a new one, "…is from me."

"U-Um… thanks," Gaara said, taking it warily, since Hinata was a morbid Goth girl and he wasn't sure what it was.

As it turned out, it was a book full of morbid poetry.

"I hope you… _enjoy_ it," Hinata said, just as slowly, before walking away, leaving a lightly traumatized Gaara.

The other presents were all, actually, kind of interesting. Sakura got him a 'best friend' necklace (she gave him the 'friends' half and made him put it on) which he secretly treasured for the rest of his existence, Ino got him a bracelet like Kyo's in _Fruits Basket_ (which she made him put on and wear for the rest of the night)Kiba got him a t-shirt that said "Silence is golden but duct tape is silver", the girls at Ino and Sakura's lunch table got him hair products for some odd reason, Shikamaru got him some weird game, Shino got him an ant farm (which Kiba seemed to think was just too hilarious for some odd reason), Zaku got him a beanie hat ("Face it, crazy people are hot" with a morbid, deformed kittie), Dosu got him some random manga, Kin got him what Ukon called a 'funky cool fresh watch' (it looked just like any other watch Gaara had ever seen, but Ukon pointed out that this one was waterproof), Tayuya got him a humongous assortment of CDs (Kidoumaru pitched in and bought the humongous case) (Kankurou: "Wow! Can you come to my birthday?").

"Where's your present, Sakkon?" Ukon asked curiously.

Sakkon looked up at him. "You're wearing it."

Of course, everyone had to look at Ukon, who was wearing a black Disturbed t-shirt.

"…You left it on my bed," Ukon said in an "aren't-I-innocent" voice.

"That was MY bed! You just think everything in the room belongs to you!"

"It was gift-wrapped!" Ukon protested.

"Well, there's your mistake right there," Tayuya muttered. "Leaving something gift-wrapped where Ukon could find it…"

Back to presents…

Jiroubou got him a gift certificate to Wokenfuss, which is like, this HUGE candy store at the mall (Chouji: "Dammit!"), Sasuke got him a shirt with a dragon on it (apparently, dragons are like 'the thing' now, but then again, Sasuke had an image to uphold, even thought he didn't really even want to be here… he doesn't even have a speaking role, for crying out loud!) Kimimaro got Gaara a snake plushie, but Gaara had no sooner unwrapped it before Ukon swooped down like a hawk and snatched it up.

"Oh my god, it's fuzzy!" the older twin (if you can believe it) cried, petting the plushie.

"LEAVE GAARA'S SNAKE PLUSHIE THING ALONE!" Haku shrieked, attacking, swooping down like a mother hawk protecting her nest.

SMACK-FIGHT!

"Ukon, knock it off," Kimimaro said calmly, going to get a chip (Yes, that's right… one chip at a time).

Mumbling darkly, Ukon started to walk away.

"THE SNAKE!" Haku shrieked.

Ukon: Glare

Haku: FIRE AND BRIMSTONE!

"G-Gay man got scary," Ukon whimpered, clinging to Sakkon as Haku walked away calmly back to Gaara with the snake plushie.

Lee gave Gaara a grin, holding out a present. "I would like you to know, Gaara-san, that this gift I am about to give you is in no way, shape or form intended to give HAKU," insert pointed look at P.O.I.G., "ideas."

"Um… ok…" The present turned out to be a set of _Gravitation _manga.

Haku gasped. "Oh my god, I love vol…" Everyone turned to look at him. "…ume… um… 2!" He nodded, grinning brightly.

The entire soccer team had pitched in to buy Gaara a subscription to Sports magazine (and if you think this is a piss-pants present, think about how much a subscription to a magazine costs), which Gaara accepted with a rather large, fake smile that no one picked up on except Temari and Kankurou. Genma's present, however, caused Gaara's eye to twitch.

"A soccer ball!" Neji cried, grinning happily.

"Come on, Gaara, Neji told me he's been showing you stuff!" Genma said, grinning. "Show us what you learned!"

Gaara glared and pelted the ball at Genma's head. Genma, however, was a soccer coach, and caught it easily, laughing.

"No, no, you don't throw it unless you're a goalie, and you're too little to be a goalie! But you got a good arm though."

"He IS puny, isn't he?" Ukon said loudly, recovering from his Haku-escapade. He went over and stood in front of Gaara, bending over with his arms crossed so he was looking Gaara in the eye. "I mean, he looks like he'd just blow away if I sneezed at him." …Shifty eyes. "ACHOO!"

Long silence.

"Would it humor you if I fell over?" Gaara asked.

Ukon nodded. "Yep!"

Gaara promptly fell backwards in an over-dramatic stage-fall. However, this movement was hindered greatly by the fact that he was sitting on a chair, but it sure seemed to make Ukon happy. Gaara smiled up at him too, thoroughly enjoying himself. Across the room Kankurou smiled at him, happy that he was happy, but it dropped when he heard a click. Glancing at Neji, he gave him a weird look.

"What are you taking pictures of my brother for?" he demanded.

"Everyone takes pictures on their birthday," Neji said, no longer afraid of Kankurou's foreboding aura. "Besides, Gaara's my friend and I want a picture of him."

"You've been taking pictures all night."

"Not just of him. I have others," Neji insisted.

Kankurou glanced away, knowing Neji was lying through his teeth. The only 'others' he had taken had Gaara in it as well. _'Sneaky bastard,'_ Kankurou muttered to himself, going back to the presents

It was Haku's turn.

"Well, Gaara," Haku purred, smiling at him. (Gaara backed up) "I was going to get you a best friends necklace, but Sakura got you that. Then I was going to get you a Kyo bracelet, but Ino-chan got you that. Then I was going to get you an obnoxious T-shirt, but Kiba got you that. Then I was going to get you hair products, but the lunch table got you that. (oro?) Then I was going to get you a game, but Shikamaru got you that. Then I was going to get you an ant farm, but I don't like bugs and Shino got that anyway. Then I was going to get you SNG's hat, but Zaku got you that. Then, I was going to get you a random manga of doom, but Dosu got you that. Then, I was going to get you a funky cool fresh watch, but Kin got that. Then I was going to get you both a CD AND a CD case, but Kidoumaru and Tayuya got you those. Then I was going to have my present stolen by Ukon, but Sakkon gave you that… kind of… Then I was going to get you a gift certificate to Wokenfuss, but Jiroubou got you that. Then I was going to get you a snake plushie, but Kimimaro got you that for some unholy reason. Then I was going to get you a dragon shirt but Sasuke got you that. Then I WANTED to get you Gravitation so I could read it to you," Shojo eyes, "but Lee got you that. And I wasn't about to be totally dim and get you stuff you would NEVER read and NEVER use, so I didn't get you sports stuff, _SO…_" Deep breath.

The room fell silent.

"I got you a big pack of gum!" Haku said brightly, giving Gaara said pack of gum.

Ukon's jaw dropped. "That's the gum we stole!"

"…How'd he get it?"

"I gots mad, l33t gay skills," Haku said with a wink.

"………………o k……." Neji said breaking the silence. "Games any one?"

"Let's play spin the bottle!" Haku, Zaku and Ukon cried in unison.

"NO!" Gaara said, quickly.

"Let's play flashlight capture the flag," Kiba suggested.

"It's not dark enough yet, but we'll play it later," Sakura said, thinking hard.

"….hide and seek," Ino said finally.

"Don't go in my office or the bed rooms," Hiashi said automatically.

"Gaara's it."

'…_.saw that coming..' _Gaara muttered as everyone darted out of the room.

"Count to 30 Gaara! And no cheating!" Sakura called.

And so Gaara found himself alone, well almost along, Sasuke didn't move from his seat. Gaara looked over at Sasuke, who had a 'dot dot dot' face.

"Do you really care if I stay?" Sasuke asked. (Shukaku: Sasuke has a speaking role!)

Gaara shook his head.

Sasuke gave him a wave and left.

Gaara glanced around at nothing, then shook his head. Staring up at the ceiling he began counting. _'1…..2….3….4……'_

* * *

Hiashi sat at the kitchen table while Hinata's mom washed dishes. She wrapped up most of the food and stuck it in the enormous fridge for the kids to eat for breakfast. Hiashi looked up from the work he had been…working on.

"What do you think of those three?" he asked.

"I think all three of them are very sweet children," she replied. "Temari and Kankurou are very sweet to their little brother. I'm amazed, though, that this is little Gaara's first birthday party." Hiashi gave her a questioning look. "I overheard Kankurou and Neji talking."

"Hm…." Hiashi thought for a moment. "Really? His first?"

"That's what they said."

"Come to think of it…their father didn't seem pleased with the thought of the sleep over."

"Maybe he wanted them home for Gaara's birthday," she suggested.

"Yes, maybe," he replied.

Gaara walked into the room, casually looking around. "Is anyone hiding in here?" he asked, getting straight to the point.

"No, dear," Hinata's mom replied, smiling fondly at him. "Try where all the lights are out, that's where they usually hide."

"Ok," Gaara said, turning to leave.

"Um, Gaara," Hiashi called before he left. "What does your father do for a living?"

Gaara blinked and stopped. "Uh…he works for an international company that sells …. stuff…"

"Hm. I see," Hiashi said, sipping his coffee.

Gaara looked at him then at Hinata's mother, wondering if they still wanted to talk to him. She smiled and motioned that he could go.

* * *

By the time the sun set and it was dark enough to play capture the flag, which Gaara had no idea what it was, he had found everyone except for Hinata and Kankurou. Actually, he did find Kankurou, or rather Kankurou snuck up behind him and scared the shit out of him when he went into a dark room on the second floor looking for them. They headed down to the first floor and Kankurou noticed a linen closet on the landing. They opened it and looked in.

"You _found_ me."

Kankurou and Gaara's souls left them, as Hinata calmly stood from where she had been sitting, waiting patiently, and went down stairs herself.

* * *

"What is 'Capture the Flag'?" Kankurou and Gaara asked in unison.

"I will explain—"

Haku pushed Ukon away and smiled at them. A pretty little diagram appeared behind him.

"Capture the Flag is a game played with two or more teams. Each team has a flag that can be anything from a person to a piece of cloth, so long as the other team knows what it looks like. Each team has a base and jail. The base is a safety zone for the team where the other team can't get to them, while the jail is where captured members of the other team are kept and guarded. You can capture players of the opposite teams by two hand tags and retrieve captured team members by tagging them out of jail. The object of the game is to take the other team's flag before they take yours. Once the person with the flag is tagged the flag may either stay where it is or be taken back to the base. Any questions?" he asked, tossing his little pointing stick away.

"No," Gaara and Kankurou replied.

"I vote that we have a human flag," Kiba said. "But the person can't protest or fight when their taken."

Everyone seemed to like the idea and everyone was put on random teams. And their flags were decided.

Team 1: Flag: Gaara (Ukon's idea); players: Ukon, Temari, Lee, Ino, Zaku, Tayuya, Kidomaru, Soccer player #1, Soccer player #3, Soccer player #5, Soccer player #7, Soccer player #9, Shino, Kiba, Lunch table #5, Kimimaro, and Kin

Team 2: Flag: Lunch table #3; players: Sakkon, Kankurou, Neji, Sakura, Haku, Jiroburou, Soccer player #2, Soccer player #4, Soccer player #6, Soccer player #8, Lunch table #1, Dosu, Naruto, Chouji, Shikamaru, Lunch table #4, Lunch table #2, and Hinata

Each team went to their bases, all clothed in black (provided by the Hyuga's) and began formulating their plans of action.

Team 1's jail was the soccer goal Neji used to practice while their base was the perimeter of a large Cherry Tree near by. Because there were no rules about putting the flag in almost near impossible places, Ukon placed Gaara on a semi high branch and told him to stay there, which he did since he was extremely high and didn't want to fall.

Team 2's jail was a bunch of tables and lawn chair arranged in a circle in the middle of their base and they, having the same thought about flags, placed Lunch table #3 on top of the small shed near the jail.

When both teams were ready, Ukon and Sakkon started them off with their helpful twin thing of saying things at the same time, yelling 'start!' Both teams darted off in the dark, running across the large backyard or crawling on the grass. Gaara lost sight of all his team mates, and could barely see the ones they were guarding him.

As he sat in the darkness of the tree, he began to realize things. Things like: wow, he was really high up, how'd Ukon put him up here?; or playing with these people is fun; and then he realized another thing about the game that made him shiver: Kankurou and Neji were on the other team and so was Haku. Kankurou was always good at games like this, and Neji just seemed the type to be good at this too. Haku was very possessive and knew Gaara was the flag and would do anything to get Gaara on his side. But then again, Temari was on his team and Ukon seemed determined to win this. The other teams flag was a girl that he could here squealing every few minutes at every noise. Ukon had told him not to make a noise, which he wasn't.

As his eyes began to adjust, he began noticing people moving around. He could easily pick out Ukon and Sakkon's light hair as the two squared off ready to attack the first who moved. Ino was bound and determined to get on top of the shed without Sakura, who was one of the ones guarding the flag, catching her. He couldn't tell who anyone else was.

Looking down he noticed two dark figures crawling on their bellies towards the almost full jail, pausing every so often. Gaara looked around for the guards, but couldn't see any. The two figures were under the tree now. Gaara didn't move from his position. One of them moved into a little patch of moonlight shining though the leaves and Gaara swallowed hard. It was Kankurou. And he highly expected the other to be Neji. There was a yelling and laughing to the left of the jail. A group of people from the other team had stumbled on people from his team. He looked down at the ground and was surprised that he couldn't see Neji and Kankurou anymore. Where'd they go?

"Hey Gaara."

Gaara freaked out and nearly fell from the tree but was caught by a set of strong hands. Kankurou wrapped his arms around his smaller brother and brought him back down to the ground where Neji was waiting. His two capturers carried him across the field. When they got within their border Neji called that they won. Kankurou laughed with Gaara still on his shoulder.

"How'd you get that high?" he asked Gaara, swinging him a little.

"Ukon put me up there," he replied, smiling at his fun.

Kankurou laughed loudly as he and Neji carried Gaara back into the house with everyone else. Everyone was talking excitedly about what they did and who got who out and who cheated. They set him down in the kitchen and they all went into the living room again.

Because it was now around 10:30 at night and some people had work the nest day or some's parents didn't want them spending the night, people said another congratulations to Gaara and either hugged him or (in Ukon's case) gave him a hardy pat on the back that nearly knocked him over and said he'd see him at school on Monday. Now only Neji, Hinata, Kankurou and Temari, Ino, Sakura, Naruto, Kiba, and Kin were left. Hinata's mom told them to go upstairs to settle down. The boys were given Neji's room and the girl's Hinata's. Because Hiashi was generous and Neji was a good nephew, there was a tv in Neji's room where he played video games. All the boys crowded on Neji's random collection of pillows and chair and took turns playing different games. As much as the boys wanted to stay up all night, they began to get tired and finally decided to go to sleep and rolled out their sleeping bags.

Kankurou and Neji stayed up and talked for a while after every one else finally fell asleep. Gaara had fallen asleep practically the moment he laid down. Kankurou smiled at him when he noticed and tucked him in.

"Does he usually fall asleep that fast?" Neji asked laughing quietly.

"No actually," Kankurou said laying down in his sleeping bag. "Gaara's got insomnia. It usually takes him forever to fall asleep, if he sleeps at all."

"Oh," Neji said, laying down himself. "Is that why he has the dark circles around his eyes?"

"Yeah," Kankurou said, fluffing up his pillow.

Neji was quiet for a while. "Kankurou I—"

"Heh. I knew I wasn't gonna get through the night with out you asking me at least once," Kankurou said running his fingers through his hair. He gave Neji a stern look. "Lemme asked you this: why do you want to know?"

Neji blinked and stared down at his pillow. "I guess….at first it was because I was curious about you three. I mean, you're new and all. But then I began to get to know you guys, especially Gaara and we've become kinda close friends and all….and…and I really like Gaara."

"That's cool," Kankurou said. "Gaara really hasn't had a friend—"

"No, I mean…I _really_ **_like_** Gaara."

Kankurou's eyebrows went up slowly as he stared at the fidgeting Hyuga.

"I don't know why…It's hard to explain, but I like Gaara a lot, not just as a friend any more…and I just…wanna get to know him more."

Kankurou watched him try to explain himself, a smile starting to play on his face. His expression softened and he sighed. "Alright. I'll tell you about us," he said.

0


	6. Feelings

**Vindicated**

Chapter 6: Feelings

* * *

"I don't know why…It's hard to explain, but I like Gaara a lot, not just as a friend…and I just…wanna get to know him more."

Kankurou watched Neji try to explain himself, a smile starting to play on his face. His expression softened and he sighed. "Alright. I'll tell you about us," he said. He paused, thinking out his thoughts, organizing them into a story. He occupied himself with glancing down at his brother then at the other sleeping boys. Finally, he looked up at Neji again.

"My mom and dad met a long time ago in Sunaga. Mom really liked kids, but dad really hates kids but she wanted one and so they had me. Then a year later Temari was born. Mom really wanted a girl, even though she was apparently thrilled with me, so Temari was kinda spoiled as a kid and she's definitely dad's favorite. Then Gaara was born, but he was born really early and mom died giving birth to him. Dad hated Gaara from the moment he found out she died. Dad really loved mom and blamed Gaara for her death, spending all of Gaara's life pounding that into him. To this day Gaara believes that it was his fault. I can't remember him ever taking care of Gaara as a baby, but he must've cause Gaara's alive and somewhat healthy." Kankurou reached over and brushed the hairs away from his brother's sleeping face. A futile effort, as they just flopped right back to his face. "When Gaara turned eight, I remember, that's when 'it' started."

"What started?" Neji asked.

Kankurou was very quiet as he continued to study his brother's face, though he already knew it by heart. "Have you heard that Gaara never dressed for gym and that he's only been recently because Sakura got him a special uniform?"

"Yeah."

"Do you know why?"

Neji shook his head.

"Actually you do, you just don't realize it. Think a minute."

Neji thought then his eyes widened. "The bruises…."

"Yeah. Every single bruise, cut, burn or scar was given to him by our father." Neji's mouth dropped open in alarm and shock. "That's why Gaara's so pale and doesn't like to play sports. He doesn't like people to see, so he tries to cover them."

**Flashback**

"_Come on, Gaara," Kankurou said, hands on his hips. "It's hot out."_

"_I don't care," was Gaara quiet reply from the comforting shade of the inside of the playground tubes._

"_They're not that bad," Kankurou insisted. "Just roll your sleeves up at least. You're gonna get sick." He waited patiently, but no one emerged. "Please? You don't have to play with the other kids, just with me."_

_He watched as his little brother slowly crawled out of the tube. Kankurou rolled the sleeves up on his brother's long shirt. Bruises littered the small arms and face of the ten year old. Ignoring them, he led Gaara over to the swings and they each got on one, but Gaara just sat as Kankurou swung high. Several kids came over and demanded the swings, but Kankurou said, they were using them, daring them to try and take them from them. He continued to swing, ignoring them, but they grabbed Gaara and dragged him off his._

"_We want a turn!" they yelled at him._

_Kankurou jumped off his swing, coming to his brother's rescue, but not before the boys saw the bruises._

"_Ew! Gross! What happened to you?"_

_Kankurou grabbed Gaara away from the boys and pushed him behind him. The other boys backed off, though, saying cruel things and laughing about Gaara. They found their other friends telling them what they saw, pointing at Gaara. Soon all the kids were staring at Gaara and the smaller boy turned and ran home, hiding from the stares._

_He didn't go to the play ground again._

**End Flashback**

Kankurou sighed then continued. "Last Sunday—not this past Sunday, but the Sunday before—Dad had a bunch of friends over and they got drunk. Temari's scared of them, even though she knows Dad won't hurt her. Like I said, she's his favorite, and I wasn't home or else I would have stopped them. But Gaara wasn't out with the flu for the past week and half."

Neji sat upright, furious. "What! What the Fuck! He hurt him that—"

"SH!" Kankurou shushed him, looking at Gaara who shifted in his sleep. "Gaara's got insomnia; it's good that he's sleeping now. Don't wake him up."

"Sorry," Neji said quietly, laying back down, very frustrated and upset. "I just—I'm so….angry…How can someone do that to their own son… and to Gaara no less. Gaara would hurt—"

"—A fly," Kankurou finished. "But Gaara's not very brave anyway and does whatever Dad tells him to do. Mostly it's out of fear of being punished, but it's run out of home life and into his social skills. He always afraid that if he makes someone angry, they'll hurt him. It's not a good thing either. Assholes like to take advantage of that too."

"How…does Gaara stand it? Why doesn't he try to make it stop?"

"He doesn't, but he's trying now, cause I found out."

"Found out what?"

"Gaara _has_ been…trying to make it stop….make everything stop." Kankurou held out his wrist and make a little slicing motion.

He looked down, upset about this himself, as Neji's face fell like his heart was broken. Neji buried his face in his pillow and took a few minutes to let that sink in.

"Are you serious?" he asked quietly. "He … he cuts himself?"

"I just found out about it when we went to the mall together. But I've noticed he's trying to find other ways of getting through it. I'm not scared of our dad and both of them know it. Dad also knows I'd beat his ass if we got into a fight, so Gaara usually hangs out with me in my room and listens to music or reads my manga or something. …. A while ago I made a decision that I'd save all my money so that when I turn eighteen I can move out and I'm taking Temari and Gaara with me. I don't care who tried to stop me."

"Where do you get the money?" Neji asked curiously.

Kankurou swallowed hard and thought over if he should explain that to him too. Finally he reaching into his pocket and pulled out four altoid cans. He handed one to Neji who opened it and looked in. Inside were little square pieces of paper.

"You know what that is?" Kankurou asked. When Neji shook his head he handed him the other. "How bout these?" he handed him two others. "Don't sniff that one." He said pointing to one.

"These are steroids," Neji said pointing to the one with little tablets in it. "I can't tell what this is?"

"The first one's acid. The second's steroids for athletes and other who want to enhance their muscles and the third is weed and the fourth cocaine. I know it's bad, but I get good money, selling all this," Kankurou took them back, making sure they were tightly closed and pocketed them again.

Neji stared at him. "You couldn't just get a job?" he asked.

"I'd be away from home to much. I needed to get money and still be home when Temari and Gaara need me. I don't use them myself, but you'd be surprised how many people will pay lots of money to get this stuff." He gave a little scoff and looked away. "I'm not as cool as I was earlier am I?"

Neji wasn't sure how to reply, but was spared the chance when Gaara moaned and squeezed his eyes against whatever dream he was having. He suddenly sat up, gasping for breath, staring around at the unfamiliar environment. He was still half asleep but still staring around, frightened and whimpered for his brother.

"Gaara," Kankurou whispered. Gaara turned to look at him, eyes half shut, searching, yet barely seeing. Kankurou pulled him over onto his bed and brushed his hair away again. "You ok?" he asked, just as quietly. Neji watched unmoving as Gaara nodded and snuggled under the sleeping bag to the warm comfort of his older brother. "Bad dream?"

"..Mmm…."

"Wanna tell me?" Gaara shook his head against him before falling back asleep. Kankurou smiled at him almost fondly then looked up at Neji.

"Why didn't you ever…call someone?" Neji asked, looking away. He couldn't help noticing how cute Gaara looked when he was half asleep, or the fact that he wished Gaara would snuggle up to _him_ like that. The thought made him blush and he was glad it was dark and Kankurou couldn't see it.

"Cause of dad."

"Huh?"

"Dad knows I sell drugs…but then I know he abuses Gaara…it's a horrible cycle. I know I should, but I know he'll tell on me and I'll get busted too and won't be able to take care of Temari and Gaara. I don't know what to do." Kankurou leaned on his elbow and looked out Neji's window.

A long pause followed as Kankurou thought things over. Neji wanted to know about Gaara…and if he really liked him he would want to know things… "Do you remember when you first asked me about Gaara?" Neji nodded. "Remember how I was real surprised when I found out he was talking to you?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"I was surprised because….when he was little…or really…_every_ friend he's had usually finds out somehow about what happens at home. Every single one said the same thing."

**Flashback**

"_I don't wanna be friends with a freak like you. You might hurt me too."_

**End Flashback**

"Kids can be so mean sometimes," Kankurou said. "When Gaara got to middle school things got worse. He wasn't good at hiding the fact that he came to school with new bruises almost every day. Kids use to take advantage of that…and advantage of him, like I said. He'd never tell us what though, but we use to get a lot of calls home about Gaara getting bullied or getting in 'fights'. When we'd ask him if something bad happened, he'd always answer with the same reply."

**Flashback**

"_No, nothing bad. Don't worry about it."_

**End Flashback**

"The calls made things worse at home; Dad use to get mad at Gaara for every little thing. That's when he developed his insomnia; staying up fearing being vulnerable while sleeping and being scared of going to school the next day. In my sophomore year I got my cell phone and I forged a letter to the office that our home number changed. Then they called me instead so Gaara didn't get in trouble from school all the time." He looked down at Gaara again then laid down completely, pulling the warm body towards him in a gentle hug.

Neji looked from Gaara, who smiled in his sleep and snuggled closer, then up at Kankurou, then back again, sighing. "I'm sorry," Neji said. "I can't tell you that I understand, cause I don't….but I'm sorry…and I hope I can help you guys when ever you need it."

Kankurou smiled at him. "You know what? You already are."

* * *

After everyone left, the three siblings helped the Hyuga's clean up from the party, then ate a late breakfast with them. Gaara went into the living room and sat down on the floor in front of his presents, picking each up in turn and staring at it like it was glass. Temari came in and knelt behind him, hugging him.

"Did you sleep good last night?" she asked.

"I woke up in Kankurou's sleeping bag," Gaara commented, staring at the present from Chouji, opening one of the Hershey kisses and nibbling on it. He wasn't quite sure how he got on Kankurou's bed, but it didn't bother him that much.

"Mmm," she murmured. Smiling, she reached behind her back and pulled out a Chinese fan, holding it out in front of him.

He took it from her and opened it, staring at the design of twin dragons and a sun. Smiling, he waved it, blowing cool air at their faces. Temari laughed quietly behind him and took his hand, turning it so that he could see the other side.

'_To our favorite brother, we love you so much and we hope you had enough fun to make up for at least a few miserable years. Happy Birthday, Kankurou and Temari'_

The black ink was outline with silver ink and it was written in careful calligraphy Japanese, but Gaara only noticed the words. He bit his lip as tears sprung to his eyes, not wanting them to fall. Kankurou had come in and knelt next to them, waiting for Gaara to read the inscription. Now he put his hand on his shoulder, smiling at him, as Gaara whispered his thanks to them.

They packed up their things and walked home with Neji, thanking Hiashi for letting them have the party. Neji noted that while Gaara had been in a very good mood when they left the house, he was now distant and quiet the closer they came. As they walked up the driveway, Neji saw a car parked there he assumed was their father's. Kankurou unlocked the door and they went in.

"We're home Dad!" Temari called.

"All three of you?"

"Four," Kankurou said. "Neji's here."

Neji's first thought as his friend's father walked into the hallway was that he didn't look so bad, but he tried not to let his politeness change what Kankurou had told him. He had noticed Gaara ducking behind Kankurou and himself the second his father's voice sounded. The tall man greeted Neji politely and Neji returned the greeting and shook his hand. He thanked Neji for inviting them to his house. He noticed the extra bag and questioned about it.

"We went shopping after school, before the party," Kankurou said quickly. "I bought it for myself."

"A little selfish, wouldn't you say?" their father said in a polite sounding sneer. Kankurou didn't back down or say anything. "It was nice to meet you Neji."

"Pleasure's mine."

"Can Neji stay for a bit?" Gaara ventured quietly, poking his head out, his soft voice breaking the silence.

Their father flashed him a glare then turned away. "For a little bit."

Kankurou led them upstairs to his room. Temari went into her room and the three boys sat on Kankurou's bed. Gaara took his bag of presents from Kankurou and began looking through them again, smiling happily at them all. He had never gotten so many gifts even if he had put all his birthdays together.

"Your dad's kinda weird," Neji commented after a while.

"………yeah….." was all the redhead mumbled after a moment's silence.

"…You're not going to get in trouble cause I'm here, are you?" Neji ventured, desperately hoping he wouldn't.

"Oh, no! Of course not!" Gaara said a bit too quickly.

Kankurou suddenly stood, gave Neji a look then left, mumbling something about the bathroom, shutting his door on the way out. The two boys looked after him, then Neji got up and made sure it was completely shut. He turned back to Gaara who was giving him a quizzical look.

"I need to talk to you," Neji said quietly.

"About what?" Gaara asked curiously, tilting his head to the side in question.

"…About the bruise on your side and why you weren't in school last week."

Gaara swallowed hard and forced his face into one of confusion. "What bruise?" he asked laughing nervously, hand unconsciously going to his side.

"Don't lie to me."

"I—I'm not—"

"Kankurou already told me, Gaara, you don't have to pretend," Neji said quietly. "You're doing a bad job of it anyway."

Gaara's expression changed to that of suppressed fear and panic. He turned away from Neji, blushing, and stared at the manga in his hand. He took a few deep breathes, trying to regain his composure. "Why'd he tell you?" he demanded angrily.

"I've been asking for a while now—"

"So? It wasn't any of your business anyway! And I never said he could tell you!" Gaara interrupted him. Though he was angry and speaking strongly, Neji noticed his stammering was very noticeable, seeming unuse to voicing anger. "I didn't want you to know! I wanted you to be my friend!"

"Gaara, I'm still your friend…" Neji said quietly.

"You wont be later," was the sad, yet determined reply. "It always happens like that. No one wants to get involved with someone like me." Gaara clenched his fists together, shaking slightly.

Neji looked at him sadly and sat down behind him on the bed. "Look. Kankurou told me everything. About your dad and your old friends. And you know what?"

Gaara glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. Neji wondered how Gaara's lip was still attached to his face, as the boy had been chewing on it since they started talking. "What?"

"I don't care. I still like you."

Gaara turned to face him and stared. "You do?"

"Duh!" Neji said placing his hands on his hips. "I don't know what kind of 'friends' you had before, but they were jerks. We're not like that."

"'We'?"

"I think that you should tell some of your other friends. You don't have to," he added, seeing the startled and terrified look on his face, "but I think they'd understand. Hell, Sakura would form a protest against your dad and I don't even want to think about what Haku would do…" Neji laughed to himself. "But…" He reached out and touched Gaara's cheek lightly. "I don't want you to think that you have to hide things from me. I want to be here for you when ever you need me. You see….I think…I'm starting to like you more then a friend would…Like…I love you…" he laughed nervously as Gaara stared at him.

Long pause.

"Please stop looking at me like that!" Neji said, turning his back to Gaara. "I know it's kinda weird to hear me say it…but I guess you really can't help who you love… I'm sorry."

Gaara stared at his back then down at his hands. Not one had ever told him they loved him before. He really wasn't sure how to respond. He was blushing darkly and stammering more then Neji'd ever heard him.

"I—I like you too, Neji," he said quietly, blush creeping across his face.

"Not like I like you though, huh?" Neji asked, continuing to stare at the wall.

Gaara looked up again. "I do like you! You were my first friend in a long time. So's Sakura, but I like you different from Sakura. It—it's like I like Temari and Kankurou, but… still ….different…."

Neji turned back to him giving him a quizzical look. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Gaara insisted.

Neji turned back to him smiling. Then he looked up at the ceiling and scratched his chin. "So…you'd be willing to go on a date or something…?"

Gaara nodded, giving him a tiny, shy smile.

Neji looked away from Gaara and gave the 'camera' a look of relief. _'Yes!'_ he screamed inwardly. He turned back to Gaara. "Did you have fun last night?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah. Thanks for—"

"Gaara!"

Gaara jumped and pushed his presents off the bed away from the door. He scooted away from Neji to the end of the bed just as the door opened and his father stepped in.

"Neji needs to go home now. I'm sorry," he said to Neji.

"It's ok," Neji said, giving Gaara a funny look when his father wasn't looking. The two boys went down stairs to the front door. Neji handed Gaara a slip of paper. "If you get in trouble...ever...or if you just wanna talk, call me ok?"

"Kankurou already has your number," Gaara said, pocketing it.

"That's my cell," Neji whispered as Gaara's father came down. "Bye. Thanks for letting them come over yesterday," he added to Gaara's father.

Gaara waved and closed the door behind him.

"You _invited _him over?"

"Kankurou did," Gaara replied honestly, fiddling with his fingers and hem of his shirt. "Um…Neji wanted to know if I could go with him to his soccer tryouts. Not to try out, just to watch."

"You've been hanging out with him a lot," his father said, glaring down at him. "When?"

"All next week."

"……fine….."

"Thanks," Gaara murmured before turning and starting up the stairs, but his father caught the back of his shirt and pulled him back down.

"If you tell him _anything_ I'll make you wish you never met him."

Gaara swallowed and tried not to look scared. His father let go of him and he ran up the stairs panting heavily as he came in between his and Kankurou's door. He went into Kankurou's room and sighed in relief. He looked at his brother oddly as he began laughing.

"What?" Gaara asked.

"What'd you say?" he asked.

"To who?"

"To Neji, duh. He asked you out right?"

"How'd you—"

"What?" Temari asked appearing behind Gaara.

"Neji's gay," Kankurou explained, like he knew this all along. "He asked Gaara out."

"How'd you know?"

"What'd you say?" Temari asked.

"How'd you—"

"WHAT'D YOU SAY!"

Gaara stopped then looked away, blushing.

Temari squealed loudly and jumped up and down excitedly. "He said yes! He said yes!" she squealed. She glomped Gaara and started going on and on about something random, that he wasn't listening to. His face almost matched his hair now, and he desperately wished that he could go crawl under Kankurou's bed and stay there for awhile. But that wasn't possible as Temari was latched on to him.

"What are you squealing about, Temari?"

Temari instantly stopped and turned around, facing their father in the doorway. "Sorry Dad, I didn't mean to be loud," she said, nervously.

"What did the brat say about what?" he inquired, stepping into the room.

"Please get out of my room," Kankurou said sitting up on his bed.

Their father glared down at him. "This is my house, Kankurou."

"This is _my_ room and I don't want _you_ in here," Kankurou said, glaring back.

Temari and Gaara looked from one to the other, both terrified of what ever would come out of the fight. They continued to argue and yell. It ended with Kankurou being grounded for a while. Kankurou didn't care though, he could leave if he wanted. Or just do his business out the back door. He had long found ways around being grounded and didn't care one bit. But then something bad happened Kankurou didn't count on.

"What that fuck are you staring at?" their father demanded, noticing Temari and Gaara. Deciding to vent his anger on a more effective object, he reached out and grabbed the front of Gaara's shirt. "You're pathetic! Hiding behind your brother all the time!"

"Hey! It's not his fault!" Kankurou said, getting worried now. "He was here when you came in!"

"Stop defending him all the time!" their father said. "Can't he take care of himself?"

"He would if you leave him alone sometimes!" Kankurou shouted.

"Don't tell me how to take care of kids," their father said. He shoved Gaara out of the room and started to follow. Gaara scrambled to get up so he could get away but slipped.

Kankurou started after them. "Wait!"

"Shut up!" their father turned and shoved Kankurou down, back into his room and shut the door.

Gaara called for Kankurou as his father grabbed and dragged him down the stairs to the basement. Gaara kept trying to get away, grabbing onto anything he could. He was scared. His father was pretty ruthless when he was mad at him, but he was really mad at Kankurou and taking it out on him.

He grabbed the railing to the basement as they passed, but their father beat his hands with his fist until he let go, leaving them bruised, bleeding and him unable to make a fist. He took Gaara into the back of the basement and threw him down to the floor. He picked up something long and hard, Gaara wasn't sure what it was, and started hitting him with it yelling the whole time. Gaara tried to curl up into a ball and make him self smaller, but his father grabbed him arm and held it up, leaving his left side completely unprotected.

Then it stopped as someone else's voice shouted.

Looking up Gaara saw Kankurou wrestling a pipe out of their father's hands. When he did their father shoved Kankurou into a bookcase. After recovering, Kankurou grabbed him and they both went down, punching and kicking. Kankurou knocked their father away and turned to Gaara.

"Get out of here!" Kankurou ordered before he was knocked down again.

Gaara got up painfully and ran upstairs. Temari met him in the hall and pulled him into Kankurou's room. They crawled into a corner and Temari held him tight, sobbing into his hair.

They didn't know how long they were there. Kankurou didn't have a clock in his room and his shades were down. They stayed where they were though; Temari had stopped crying and both Gaara's shoulder and back had stopped throbbing. His left side was filled with white hot pain each time he shifted, though. Temari was holding his bruised and bleeding hands, gently stroking them, kissing them every once and a while before burying her face in his hair again. They tensed up as foot steps sounded in the hallway. The door opened and Kankurou stepped in.

"You guys in here?" he asked.

"Right here," Temari said quietly.

Kankurou sighed and turned the light out. They were hurting his eyes and he didn't want the two of them to see him. He sat down on his bed, wincing slightly, though his siblings couldn't see it. "You guys ok?"

"We're ok. What about you?"

"I'm fine," Kankurou said smiling at them, though he couldn't see them in the dark, trying to sound cheerful. Stretching, he laid down on his bed. Glancing at his watch he saw that it was only almost three. Oh well, a good time for a nap. "You sure you guys are alright?"

Gaara stood up quickly. "I'm fine!" he insisted, but yelped in pain and fell over again. Getting up slowly, he limped over to the bed. "Are you ok?" he asked.

"Yes, Gaara I'm fine," Kankurou assured him. He sat up, reaching out and resting a hand on Gaara's shoulder. "You're not."

"I'm ok!"

"Gaara, he was beating you to death with a _pipe_," Kankurou said angrily. "Let me see it."

Gaara shook his head. It hurt to move, he didn't want to do anything that involved more movement.

Kankurou glared at him. Biting his lip as he suddenly thought of something, he grabbed Gaara's arms and turned him to the bed, forcing him, somewhat roughly to lay down on his back. At Gaara's unsure whimper and moan of pain, which Kankurou ignored, he told Gaara to take his shirt off.

Gaara shook his head and didn't move.

"Now, Gaara," Kankurou said, impatiently urgent.

Gaara again shook his head.

Kankurou's sigh was more like a growl of annoyance as he began tugging Gaara shirt off. Gaara whined and protested, but Kankurou blocked it out, forcing the shirt up over Gaara's head, but not completely off, so that Gaara's arms were now out of his way. With a hand on Gaara's chest, Kankurou held him down and examined him. Temari realized what he was doing and came over to help. They exchanged glances when they saw how easily they could count his ribs. Gaara froze, arms still held back by the shirt and unable to see what they were doing for the same reason, as they traced their fingers along each of his ribs, paying the most attention to his left side. Kankurou's finger barely brushed his skin on the area, but Gaara cried out in pain, panting heavily, begging them to stop.

Temari bit her lip and looked at Kankurou, as he ignored his brother's cries. "Is it broken?" she asked, barely a whisper.

"I'm not su—Gaara! Hold still!"

"It hurts!" he sobbed. "You're hurting me."

"I'm barely touching you," Kankurou insisted. The anger from the fight in the basement had left him moody and impatient.

"But it hurts! Kankurou please stop! I'm ok! You're hurting me!"

"Gaara! Shut up!" He had banged his head on something hard during the fight in the basement and Gaara's begging was making his headache worse. He began to instruct Temari on something, but Gaara kept squirming and trying to get away from under his hand. "Temari try—Gaara!"

"Sorry!" Gaara bit his lip and held his breath as a way to stop moving. He waited, biting back sobs and cries, as they ran their fingers along his left ribs. When they were done, satisfied that nothing was broken, Temari pulled his shirt back down. He instantly moved away from them to curl up at his usual spot on the floor against the bed. His thin frame was shaking as silent sobs racked his body.

Silence followed between them. Kankurou debated apologizing for being rough, but was spared the moment.

"I'm sorry, Kankurou."

Kankurou looked over at him quickly, surprised that he was apologizing. "What for?"

"For…being such a … a wimp and a chicken. He's right, I always do hide behind you and Temari…" Gaara said looking down at the floor.

"No, your not!" Temari said going over to him.

Kankurou looked down at them, then scoffed. "It's my job, being here for you guys to hide behind. If you didn't, I wouldn't be doing a very good job as a brother, would I?" he rolled over, wincing himself at his own pains and laid down on his pillow. "I'm gonna take a nap now, don't wake me up. You can stay here though, if you want."

He closed his eyes and fell asleep. Temari laid down on the floor and took a nap as well. Gaara didn't, his fear of their father coming in made him unable to sleep. And he was debating calling Neji or not. He didn't want Neji to worry about him so much..

**Flashback**

"_I don't want you to think that you have to hide things from me. I want to be here for you when ever you need me."_

**End Flashback**

Gaara hung his head. He was torn between telling Neji and not. He really wanted too, but fears of Neji turning his back on him held him back. After contemplating it for a while, he decided to call him. He tried to get up, but pain sheered through him. It took all his will not to cry out and perhaps wake his siblings up. Instead he crawled over to the door just as their father came up stairs and went into his room. Gaara then realized how much he really didn't want to leave the room.

* * *

Monday came without any more confrontations. Kankurou wasn't as ok as he said he pretended to be, but neither was their father. Both pretended that their injuries were minor but they were both hurting pretty bad. Sucking it up, Kankurou put on a brave face and went to school. Gaara was especially excited about staying after with Neji to watch the tryouts. Gaara himself was still hurting badly, but Temari had wrapped tight bandages around his chest so it suppressed some of the pain and stopped too much accidental movement. He was still upset about not calling Neji and ran to him after first period.

"I'm sorry!" he said the second he Neji came out.

"... What for?" Neji asked confused.

"I didn't called you! I'm sorry!"

"Eh!" Neji stared in confusion as they walked up the stairs to their Art class. "Why did something happen?"

(**2nd period- Art-Gaara Neji)**

"So what happened?" Neji asked as they started their projects.

"Dad and Kankurou got into a fight on Saturday," Gaara said, fiddling with the pencil he was supposed to be using to sketch a design for a painting. Kankurou had wrapped the ugliest looking part of his hands up so it was hard for him to hold a pencil but that was the least of his worries. "Dad got mad at me and started— ….anyway, Kankurou stopped him and they got into a fist fight and I think Kankurou's hurt, but pretending not to be." He sat back and gave Neji a helpless look.

"Esh…" Neji put his brush down and thought a bit. "Those don't look so good either." He added, nodding at Gaara's hands.

Gaara looked down at his bruised and cut hands before slipping them under his desk. "They don't hurt anymore."

"They hurt a little don't they?" Neji asked, giving him a patient smile.

"… a little…"

"I don't think your ok," Neji said frowning. He noticed Gaara give him a fleeting look, then stare down at his sketch book. "Gaara, you barely made it up the stairs. What hurts?"

There was a long silence, before he received an answer. "My side," was his quiet reply as his reached over and touched the pained area. "But I don't know what to do about Kankurou," Gaara said. "I don't want them to get hurt because of me."

"You know, it was Kankurou's choice to fight him right? It wasn't your fault," Neji said.

"But Kankurou said that he had to cause he's my brother."

"So? He still chose to help you. Brothers aren't always good ones. Uchiha Sasuke brother's a real ass. Don't get mixed with him if you can help it."

(**C lunch**)

Kankurou blinked as Neji slumped down onto his seat with the funniest look on his face (Haru's bored cow face). Kankurou sipped his drink, not saying anything as the Hyuga continued to stare at him. Neji twitched after a while.

"Aren't you going to ask why I'm staring at you?" he asked.

"Nope."

"….why….?"

"Cause you look really funny."

"…." (vein mark)

Kankurou sighed. "Why are you staring at me like that?" he asked.

Neji dropped the bored cow looked and took out his own lunch giving him a concerned look. "Gaara told me about Saturday. Are you really ok? He's worried."

Kankurou looked down at his sandwich, making a 'pft' sound through his teeth. "He should be worried about himself. Damn bastard almost broke Gaara's ribs."

Neji swallowed and continued to look questioningly at Kankurou.

"I've had worse. I've been in fights before and they were worse then this. Gaara's just never seen me in a real fight before, though he knows I have," Kankurou replied.

"You've been in a 'not real' fight?" Neji asked, confused.

Kankurou laughed. "The last 'friend' Gaara had made fun of him in front of like the whole school and embarrassed him real bad. I found out and beat that PUNK ASS KID INTO THE GROUND!" Kankurou said rather loudly, with a maniac expression. "I got expelled and Temari got in trouble too cause she cussed out the officers who took me to the office." Kankurou took a bit of his sandwich. "Gaara tried going to school without us, but it was real hard for him, I think some things happened, but he wont tell me. He just did what he always did when something happens at school….just smiles it off to us and says 'nothing bad, don't worry about it'. He stopped going after a week or two. So we transferred again. Then dad had to move cause of his job, right as I got weeded out with my…stuff and expelled again. And we came here." Kankurou finished, continuing to eat.

"You guys really do have it rough don't you?" Neji said, staring.

Kankurou gave him a funny glare and made a pointing motion at him. "Don't worry about it so much. You have try outs today remember?"

Neji smiled and tried to push the thoughts out of his mind. "Yeah…"

* * *

**Chronic fever:** Ahh…gomen gomen. I was being extra careful with the author notes cause it said something on the thing that I got that told me Vindicated was taken off that Author notes weren't allowed. I think they mean randomly placed in the fic.

**Midori-chan**: u stalk me anyway don't you? Well….not stalk…it's just u know where my house is ur the first to know about updates….etc etc….lol on the other hand…I know all that about u so I guess we stalk each other! (gai pose)

**Sakuryo:** hee! I love that line too. I watched the Naruto episodes with Ukon and Sakon and I was like…..yeah….cant picture it…it was funny.


	7. Try Outs

**Vindicated**

Chapter 7: Tryouts

* * *

(**4th period Gym- Gaara etc**)

"Gaaaaaaaaaraaaaaaa!"

Gaara rolled his eyes at the sing song voice as the pink ball of preppiness what was Sakura latched onto his arm. He had actually stayed out in the gym for the whole period because he had been having fun playing Frisbee with Ino, Sakura and Haku who begged to play too, this caused him to get out of the locker later then usual. He had to convince Haku that he felt really self conscious, changing in front of other people, while the boy came over to his locker with him. (not in a perverted kind of way, he just wants to get to know him more).

"Where do you eat lunch?" Sakura asked, giving his arm a light tug.

"Why?" Gaara responded, choosing to try to avoid the question. He didn't want to think about what her reaction would be if she knew he ate his lunch between the vending machines.

Ino suddenly came up, latching onto his other arm. "We want to invite you to our lunch table!" she said.

Gaara blinked. "Oh, that's ok…you don't have to—"

"To bad," they said in unison, pulling him along.

"But—"

"No buts!" they said.

* * *

"Oh my god! Are you serious!"

"Yeah!"

"No way!"

"Yep. Shita said that she said that he said that she said that she said that he said that we said that I said that he said that you said that they said that we said that Sasuke is cool…"

"Sasuke-kun is mine, Ino! Don't even TRY to take him away."

"Oh-ho, Sakura? Are you sure? Don't you know that lying is very unbecoming of you?"

"So anyway I thought that this color would be a better color than that one."

"Did you hear anything about the dance?"

"Oh my god! The boy's soccer tryouts are today! I wanna stay after and watch, but Genma-sensei's real strict about that."

"Oh I know! It's such a shame I wanna see all the boys trying out! They're so hot!"

"Ino-chan, do you still work at the hair salon? I think I might come today to get my hair done."

"Sure, dear. I'm working after school today so come around three. I think I have an opening."

Haku glomped onto Gaara talking randomly about maybe five things at the same time. Gaara just continued to stare over their heads with a funny look on his face. He thought his brain was going to implode. It was getting completely unbearable. Finally he stood, saying he had to go to the bathroom and, grabbing his bag, left the cafeteria and went to the bathrooms, hiding there until lunch was over.

'_Never again…'_

* * *

Kankurou glanced over at Neji, who couldn't sit still all period. It was getting annoying. Who cares about soccer tryouts? From what he'd heard around school, it was almost painfully apparent that Neji would be on the team no matter what. Even Kankurou's druggies knew he was incredibly good…speaking of he needed to meet one of them in five minutes in the second floor bathroom. He got the pass and left the room, unnoticed by the hyper Neji.

Hinata looked up from her paper where she was trying to take notes. Her long, black lace sleeve fluttered silently as she brought her arm off from where it rested on the desk. Neji and Kiba, who was also going to try out for JV, were talking none stop about soccer. Finally she gave them a look.

"Neji, Kiba….I'd _appreciate_ if you would _stop_," she said in her low calm voice.

Neji and Kiba stopped instantly. _'Whoa…it just got really cold in here…'_ they both thought.

* * *

Gaara grabbed his books and followed the rest of his class out of their 7th period class as the bell rang for school's end. He ignored the loud chatter, insults and music that the students exchanged with each other. Even when someone shoved him out of their way, he simply ducked his head and tried to hurry away.

"Hey! Get back here!" some one grabbed his shoulder and wrenched him back. "I think you should apologize for bumping us."

"Sorry," Gaara said, wincing at the pain from the pull.

The boys laughed and shoved him away. This didn't bother him much though. He had too much on his mind. He'd never stayed after school before…and had never watched any kind of tryouts. Nor had he gone home without Temari and Kankurou before. If they got expelled, one of them would always come to walk home with him. He always thought they were being over protective, but he found he came to count on their presents for comfort. He felt he would be ok if he was with Neji, but Neji would have other things on his mind and would have his other friends there, sharing the things he loved, like soccer. It made Gaara feel very left out, but Neji seemed so happy that he agreed to come watch him tryout, Gaara couldn't help not wanting to see Neji play. Maybe he could finally find out why Neji was so obsessed with this game.

He followed a few boys into the boy's locker room and spotted Neji almost right away. Gaara smiled as he saw Neji laughing and talking excitedly with his friends from the team. He didn't make himself known though, he felt very shy and insignificant among all the noise and laughter. Instead he watched them, peeking out from behind a locker. One of Neji's friends, one Gaara recognized from his party, noticed Gaara and pointed him out to Neji. Neji turned and saw him, his face breaking out in an even bigger smile, causing Gaara's stomach to go a-flutter. He went over to Gaara, taking his hand, and pulling him over to his friends to introduce him to them. Neji told him each of their names, but Gaara forgot them all instantly and resided to call them soccer players # 1-7. Hiding behind Neji, Gaara peeked out and said hello, then glanced up at Neji.

"How are you going to tryout?" Gaara asked Neji, quietly. "It's raining outside."

"We're just gonna have like a major workout in the gym to see who're wimps and who really wants to play," soccer player #3 said.

"Oh," Gaara said, quietly, feeling stupid for asking.

Some one goofing off with his friends bumped into Gaara, knocking him forward. Soccer player #6 caught him, asking if he was ok. Gaara said he was then told Neji he was going to wait outside. He darted off, blushing, glad to be out of the stuffy room.

"Is he really your new boyfriend, Neji?" soccer player #2 asked as Gaara turned the corner, out the door.

"Yeah, so what?" Neji said, defensively.

"Cool down, I was just wondering," he said holding his hands up. "He's really shy."

"I guess, but I don't really care," Neji said, finishing getting changed and looking after Gaara. "He's … sweet," he finished.

"He's uke right?" said #5 with a stupid grin on his face.

"Shut up!" Neji chucked his duffle bag at the boy's head.

* * *

Gaara sat down on the gym bleachers as far away from where the tryoutees (Shukaku: da f?) were gathering as he could, waiting patiently for Neji to come out. He really felt out of place. He wanted to watch Neji, but would have felt much more comfortable if it was just him and Neji alone. The other boys made him feel completely out of Neji's ring of friends. He knew it was unintentional, and that he was just being stupid but he felt he couldn't help it. Gaara covered his face with his hand. He was so stupid.

"Hello there," said a sudden shadow that fell over him.

Gaara looked up at the boy standing over him. He was dressed in shorts and a light t-shirt, obviously trying out. His semi long dark hair was pulled back in a pony tail at his neck. His black eyes were flecked with red, making Gaara think he was wearing funny contacts but didn't think about it as those eyes bore into him.

Gaara swallowed. "Hi.." he replied quietly.

"Are you trying out?"

"N—no, I'm just watching."

"I see," the boys said in his slow soft speech, reminding Gaara of Hinata. He reached out and rubbed Gaara's chin, ignoring the startled looked on Gaara's face. "That's good…I wouldn't want to see such a fragile looking thing get hurt while playing a game as rough as this. Or do you like that?" his face was almost touching Gaara's.

Gaara felt himself blushing and starting to shake. "Please stop," he begged.

"Aw…why? Am I making you feel…uncomfortable?" he said into Gaara's neck, his soft breath playing in his ear.

"Stop!"

"Uchiha! Leave the boy alone and get over with the others!" came Genma's voice as he came out of his office.

The boy sighed and backed away from Gaara and went over to sit on the other side of the bleachers. Gaara tried to calm himself down and stop his shaking. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, resisting the urge to run over to Neji, who chose that moment to come out of the locker room. Gaara was really freaked out. The boy had gotten too close for Gaara to ever be comfortable; Haku never got _that_ close.

"Hey Gaara, are you trying out?" Genma asked in surprise as he approached him.

"N—no, Neji wanted me to watch him," Gaara replied, his voice shaking worse then his hands.

"Oh, alright then. I usually don't let people watch, but I can make an exception if you promise not to distract my boys."

"I wont," Gaara promised.

Genma nodded then turned to all the tryoutees sitting on the bleachers.

"Alright you lot! Listen up! I'm not gonna put up with your shitty crap all day!" Several boys laughed at the thought of a teacher cussing them out. "You're laughing. You think it's funny. But I'm serious. You little ass fuckers don't take me seriously and you will SERIOUSLY regret it." Silence. "Listen and listen good! Ok! I want my newbie's sitting together over there and my old players over here!" All the boys scrambled to sit down. "Alright, my name is Shiranui Genma. You can call me Coach Genma or just Coach. Anything else will get you kicked off my team. Tryouts will be every day after school this week. Do not be late. Don't come up to me and say 'I had to kiss my girlfriend goodbye'—No! You come straight here! You kiss them all day in the hallway before classes anyway. If you skip school, or a class and still come to tryouts and/or practice and I find out—and trust me I will, I will personally shit kick your sorry ass out of this school and off my team."

DEAD SILENCE.

"Now," (much happier tone), "the papers I'm about to hand out to you must be filled out and brought to me _tomorrow **before**_ practice with your parents signature. No exceptions. Gaara!" Gaara blinked and looked up, surprised at being addressed. "Help me pass these papers out, will you?"

Gaara got up, hurrying to do what he was told, Genma was scarier then he thought. Several players chuckled at him from behind their hands as he fumbled with the papers and at his stammering speech. One started making fun of him aloud, but was cut off as Neji stomped on his foot. The boy glared at Neji, who simply smiled innocently and thanked Gaara as he was given the papers. Gaara handed out the four different papers to each of the tryoutees. After they looked at them and put them away, Genma called them out for stretching then had them jog around the gym. He came up to Gaara and sat down next to him.

"Hey, are you going to be here for any of the other tryouts?" he asked the red head.

Gaara nodded.

"What about the practices?"

"I don't know," he replied.

"You see I was looking for a helper and was wondering if you would be willing."

Gaara looked up at him. "A helper?"

"Yeah, like you help me out and take notes for me and come to the games also and just help me out," Genma said. "You don't have too if you don't want to."

"I'll do it," Gaara said.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Good, cause if you said no I was going to have to black mail you into it." Genma laughed at Gaara's startled expression. "I'm just kidding," he said, giving Gaara's head a little pat-pat. "You know, you could play with us a little if you wanted."

Gaara started and shook his head frantically.

"You sure? Cause, you know, you're like skin and bones," Genma said holding out Gaara's arm. "You could use some muscle on you." Gaara gave a nervous laugh, not quite sure of what to say. "You think about it, ok? I got to go whip these lazies into shape."

Genma got up and called the boys into a line. Genma pointed out the twelve stations he'd set up around the gym before they came and explained how to do each stretch at each station, then how to do each exercise at each station. After bringing a bunch of soccer balls out and placing them at their respective station, Genma separated them in groups and sent each to a station. After they worked at the station, they jogged around—_jogged_ not walked fast (put in for H-R's old coach)—then went to the next station, then repeated the process.

Gaara watched them all the whole time, eyes wide with impression. He couldn't run like that even if his life depended on it. He realized he wanted to be able to do the things they were doing too.

**Flashback**

"_You know, you could play with us a little if you wanted."_

**End Flashback**

Gaara pulled his knees up to his chest. He didn't want to play in front of the other boys though. They'd laugh at him and push him around. Neji would see how pathetic he was and not want to be with him anymore. He wouldn't play. Never.

Genma blew his whistle and the boys stopped what they were doing and went over to him. Gaara couldn't hear what Genma was telling them, but after he was finished they all went into the locker room to get their stuff. The two and a half hours were up. Practice was over.

Gaara waited outside the boys locker room until the boys began filing out, dressed in their normal school clothes, talking about the tryouts. Most barely glanced at him, but a few, noting that the devious foot stomper was still in the locker room went up to him in their group. Gaara pressed himself as far into the wall as he could, the feeling of closed space not going unnoticed.

"Hi," said one of the boys.

Gaara didn't answer; his voice was caught in his throat.

"It's rude to ignore some one when they say 'hi', you know," said the boy leaning against the wall to his left. With his foot he gave the back of Gaara's knee a sharp tap, causing him to fall.

A black haired boy grabbed Gaara's shirt and steadied him, but in a rough way that made him loose his balance. Five boys in all, they began laughing at him shoving him to the ground, pulling him back up so that he would fall again. Trying to avoid them, Gaara brought his arms over his head, despite the pain in his side from the stretching of his skin, and dropped completely to the ground. As one of the boys reached to grab him again, Gaara's shirt slipped up and the boy saw part of his back.

"Oh…ew…what the hell…"

Gaara fought to cover the skin on his back again, but not before the other boys saw it as well. They backed away from him staring, then left, muttering to themselves about the scars and burns they had seen. Gaara pulled his shirt down again and slowly stood up and hurried to the bleachers to wait for Neji.

"Hey there, you ok?" Neji asked when he came out and found Gaara.

"I'm fine," Gaara said, scuffing his feet.

"You sure? Cause you seem kinda…blegh…" Neji made a 'blegh' face.

"I'm fine."

"Alright, I'll walk you home ok?" Neji smiled at him and led him outside. He was still dressed in the clothes he wore to tryout. He had pulled his long hair into a ponytail to keep it off his face. Loose hairs were sticking to his forehead from sweat. Neji pulled a towel out of his bag and wiped his face as they walked out into the cool early spring air.

"Wont you get sick, walking around in just you shorts and a t-shirt?" Gaara asked, worry in his voice.

"Ah…I'm really not s'pose to, but I hate putting on clean clothes when I'm all sweaty," Neji explained. Some one bumped Neji as they walked by, the boy turned to see what he bumped into then continued on. Neji glared after him. "I really don't like that kid. He's such as ass, but he's a good player. He's in the senior class, Uchiha Itachi."

Gaara nodded, but didn't say anything. It was the boy who was fond of invading his personal space.

"What was coach talking to you about while we were warming up?"

"Um, he wanted to know if I was coming to the other tryouts and practices. He said he wants me to be his helper," Gaara replied, adjusting his back pack on his shoulder.

Neji's face brightened. "That's cool, then you could come a lot and we can spend more time together. And you'll have an excuse to stay away from home." As he said this, his excitedness dropped. If he had it his way, Gaara would never go home again, or at least not to that house.

* * *

"I'm home," Neji called into the Hyuga house as he walked in after dropping Gaara off at his house.

"Neji, would you come here please?" came his uncle's voice from his study.

Neji went in and closed the door behind him, smiling as he entered.

"Neji I need to ask you something important. Two things actually," Hiashi leaned on his elbows on his desk. "First, is there something going on at you new friend's house?"

Neji inwardly freak out. "What makes you ask that?" he replied, trying not lo let his voice squeak.

"I'm not sure. I've been thinking about those three since Gaara's party. I can't put my finger on it, but they, especially Gaara, don't seem to feel comfortable talking about their home life or family and they all seem to be hiding things. And I was very confused when you asked me to ask their father to let them come, but instead of telling him that if was a party for Gaara you said to say it was a sleepover for school."

"Ah…I didn't want Gaara to find out that it was a party. It was a surprise, remember?" Neji said quickly. "What was the second thing?" he asked, laughing nervously.

"……It's about this Friday."

Neji stopped laughing and looked down at the floor. "I didn't think about it," he said quietly.

"I see, that's alright," Hiashi said. "Don't think about it yet. Get through the rest of your week and your tryouts. Think about it later."

"Alright."

* * *

Kankurou stared with the little dot eyes and no mouth face. He was sitting cross-legged on his bed with the rest of his homework laid out in front of him. Standing at the foot of his bed, talking non-stop since he got home was Gaara. Kankurou wasn't sure what Neji did to his brother, but Gaara had never talked so much in his entire life and Kankurou wasn't sure if he was sick or not. He decided not, since he looked so happy as explained the stations and each of the exercise and how Genma asked him to be his helper. Kankurou smiled as Gaara finally stopped and sat down to catch his breath.

"So nothing bad happened? You had fun?" he asked, resting his chin in his hand.

The first question cause a stumble in the boy's talking. Concerned, Kankurou moved forward so that his legs were hanging over the foot of the bed. Gaara knew better then to move away so he was standing in front of him, biting nervously at his sleeve. Gently, Kankurou removed his sleeve from his mouth and held both his arms down to help him resist the temptation.

"Well?"

"Th—there was…this boy…" Gaara started. "He—he was…bothering me…"

"Where was Neji?"

"In—in the locker room."

"Who was this guy?" Kankurou asked.

"Neji said his name was Uchiha Itachi," Gaara murmured.

If Gaara had looked up, he would have seen a look of recognition in his brother's face. But he didn't look up, sparing Kankurou an explanation.

"Then…there were these other boys…" Gaara continued, stumbling over his words. Kankurou raised an eyebrow in surprise. He had thought Gaara was done. He was glad Gaara expected him to press, or he doubted he would have found out about this part.

"What happened?" Kankurou asked.

"They were…pushing me and—and l—laughing…" Gaara stared down at his wrists in Kankurou's hands, biting his lip. He hated laughing—when they laughed at him. Kankurou knew it too and felt bad, knowing that hurt him more then anything. "They—they _saw_….them."

"Saw what?"

"My…my back," Gaara said quietly. "N—not all of it…j—just a little bit. Then they left."

Now it was Kankurou's turn to bite his lip and look down. He murmured quietly that he was sorry, feeling Gaara fumbling with his fingers and thumbs nervously. Trying again, he looked up smiling.

"So, you want to go tomorrow?" he asked. "Cause if you don't—"

"Yes I want to go!" Gaara insisted. "Tomorrow, since it's supposed to be sunny they're going to play outside and…."

And on he went. The whole time Kankurou smiled and listened, trying not to think about the problems that haunted his little brother like a evil ghost.

0

Its 2 am and I'm sorry but I dont wanna do any author notes. I'll do it later


	8. Neji

**Vindicated**

Chapter eight: Neji

* * *

**Lee-san:** wouldn't that be lovely? Itachi's such an ass. Neji's just not in the right place at the right time and Gaara's always in the wrong place.

**Midori-chan:** Now girl…if we killed you, how the heck would we get the next chapter? Last time I checked ghosts weren't very good at typing. (heart)

**Chronic-fever:** I hope not either…although I think my sadistic mind might put them in for Gaara Neji goodness. Esh…bad me (smacks head with hand) sticks tongue out I don't care about whining. It's just I don't think of author notes until I upload the chapter and by that time I've re-re-re-re-reread the chapter so many times I just want to get it over with. lol

**ShaJen:** Aw…it's ok. Someone had to explain the whole uke/seme thing to me too. I was like "…wha…?" Seme means the dominate figure in a relationship, and uke means the non-dominate…so…to put it in a perverted yaoi sense, Neji would be the one on top.

* * *

(**Gym 4th period- you know who)**

"GAAAAAAAAARAAAA!"

Gaara's sweat dropped. Would he ever get through a class without someone calling his name like that? He doubted it, turning he was surprised to see Haku, not Sakura, rushing up to him with teary eyes.

"Is it true, Gaara? Say it isn't true!"

Gaara stared at the older boy in confusion. "I—is …what true?"

"Are you really going out with Neji?" Haku asked as Sakura and Ino walked up to them.

"um…." Gaara paused. "Yeah…."

"NO WAY!" Sakura and Ino cried together. "He asked you?"

"Ino-chan!" Haku cried, sobbing.

"Well….you never really asked Gaara out did you?" Ino reminded him.

Haku: ULTIMATE DEPRESSION

Sakura, Ino and Gaara stared at Haku as the boy collapsed on the floor, looking like he just lost his meaning in life, sobbing loudly. Ino and Sakura looked at him with pity then sent identical glares at Gaara that said 'say something!' Gaara gave them a funny look. Like he knew what to say!

Kneeling down, he patted Haku on the back. "I—I'm sorry, Haku, but…I'll still be your friend."

Haku looked up at him, unbelieving. "But…but…WAHH!" Haku glomped onto Gaara, knocking him flat on his back while sobbing into his stomach.

Anko came over giving them funny looks. "Um, guys…class started ten minutes ago. What are you four waiting f—oh, dear Haku, what's wrong?"

"My life has no meaning!" he sobbed at the top of his lungs.

Anko gave him a 'dot dot dot' face._ 'Not again…'_ "Just...calm down and play a _little_ before class is over alright?"

"Yes, sensei," Sakura and Ino said.

"Haku, please stop crying, people are staring," Gaara said, as their classmates turned to look at them. Memories of laughing crowds surrounding him rushed back to him. Soon he was desperately trying to get Haku off him. "Please stop, Haku!"

"(sniff) If you break up with Neji I'll st—" Haku suddenly stopped crying altogether and thought for a minute. "Wait…What am I thinking….? That's so mean." He looked up at Gaara, whose face had gone from embarrassed to upset. Haku got off Gaara and inched away. "I'm sorry, Gaara, I didn't mean that. I don't want you to break up with Neji. You seem a lot happier now and I want you to be happy." Haku's expression changed back to his happy face. "I'll be your friend."

"Uh—"

"Come on, let's go play!" Haku said taking Gaara's hand and dragging him off.

"That was fast," Ino said as she and Sakura watched them.

"He must really like Gaara," Sakura commented.

"Yeah."

* * *

(**4th period-when Kankurou's suppose to be in Health**)

Kankurou went into the boy's bathroom and waited patiently until the bathroom door was locked for the first five minutes of class before the students were allowed to use them. He didn't need to wait long before a knock sounded. Going over to the door he listened.

"Itachi," the person on the other side muttered. Kankurou opened the door and the boy stepped in. "You got it?" he asked, leaning against the wall.

"Depends, do you?"

Itachi scoffed and tossed him an envelope. "Just give it to me," he said glaring.

Kankurou handed him the small packet. "You seriously want this much?" he asked.

"You shouldn't pry into other's business," Itachi said pocketing it. The two had a staring contest for a while. Itachi broke it though, turning towards the door. "You're lucky you're the safest way to get this stuff."

"Yeah, since you've gotten ripped off buying shitty stuff," Kankurou said, smirking.

Itachi stopped and turned, glaring at him. Kankurou didn't flinch and glared back.

"Keep your hands off my brother," Kankurou said.

Itachi looked mildly surprised. "Your brother?" he asked. "I didn't know you had a brother."

"His name is Gaara, he was at the soccer tryouts yesterday," Kankurou said, his glare deepening. "Leave him alone."

Slight recognition dawned on the Uchiha's face. He scoffed at him then spit in the trash can before leaving. He would've slammed the door, but it was stopped. Itachi barely looked at the other boy, who glanced at him before entering himself.

"Hiiiiiiii Kankurou!" Ukon said going up to him.

"Hey Ukon," Kankurou said. He picked up the envelope and stuck it in his back pocket.

"Did you just do some business?"

"Yes, Ukon, what do you want?" Kankurou said, folding his arms. The boy was much hyper then usual and Kankurou knew for a fact that it wasn't his fault. "Are you high?"

"No," Ukon said, dropping slightly in the perkiness. "Gomen, I'm just having a good day. Hey," he said, suddenly serious, "were you selling stuff to that guy that just left."

"So?"

"Esh…that guy's not cool," Ukon said. "He's like a man whore or something. He's not very nice, especially when he wants something, or someone."

"Yeah, well…he pays well," Kankurou said, turning so Ukon couldn't see his face. That guy was bothering Gaara.

Ukon smiled at his back, knowingly. "Can't you refuse to sell to some people?" he asked.

"No," Kankurou said. "I need the money. I don't care who buys it or what they use it for."

"Oh…well then could I buy something?"

"Ukon!"

* * *

Gaara walked up to the second floor bathroom, thinking over what happened after his 4th period. Haku had gone over board with the whole 'I'll make Gaara happy'. Well, he supposed it was a good thing. He'd forgotten to grab his lunch that morning and had nothing to eat. Haku had noticed this and bought him lunch. He decided that was one of the better things he had done for him. But still, Gaara smiled to himself. He was helping him out a lot. It felt good to have friends. He really was having a good day.

THUD.

"Sorry," Gaara said, rubbing his head. He tried to move around who ever he'd bumped into, but was stopped by a hand.

"Hello there."

Gaara froze. _'Good feelings gone.'_

"Aren't you suppose to be in class?" Itachi asked. "Where's your pass?"

Gaara held up the clip board. "Aren't you?" he asked, lamely.

"That's really none of your business, is it?" Itachi said. He gave Gaara a very seductive smile. "Are you going to be at the tryouts again?"

"Um..." Gaara swallowed and nodded.

"Good," Itachi let go of him and started walking down the stairs. "I'll look forward to it." Like hell he was going to listen to Kankurou.

Gaara mounted the rest of the stairs and out of the stairwell, sprinting to the bathroom door just as it opened. He stopped at the door, panting. Maybe he could run that fast if he wanted to. He handed the pass to the amused teacher and went in.

* * *

"Please Kankurou? Just a little?"

"No! You don't need any—"

"Kankurou?"

Kankurou froze as Ukon turned around. Standing in the doorway was Gaara, looking surprised and bewildered.

"Hey! It's birthday boy!" Ukon cried happily going over and draping his arm around the smaller boy.

"It's not my birthday anymore," Gaara said.

"What's your point kid?" Ukon asked, in a low voice.

"N—nothing." Ever since the party, Ukon had been randomly coming up to him between classes, greeting him as loud as he could, calling him 'Birthday boy'. When Sakkon pointed out that it wasn't Gaara's birthday anymore and that he should finally learn his name, Ukon gave his brother a defensive look and said 'What are you talking about? Me and him? Yeah, we're like this,' he patted his chest with his fist and made a peace sign.

"What are you doing in here Gaara?" Kankurou asked, hoping beyond hope he hadn't heard Ukon talking about the stuff he wanted. And he also prayed Ukon wouldn't mention it again in front of him. _'Oh god _please_ I'm _begging you_ don't let him say anything.'_

"I'm going to the bathroom," Gaara said with 'bored cow face' (H-R has a new favorite expression) ... (oh yeah, for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, go here h t t p / w w w . p r i n c e . f u r u b a . c o m / t o h r u h a r u n a n i 1 0 . j p g and see the pic.). "What are you doing here?"

"Um…hahaha...bathroom," Kankurou said, waving his hand non chalontly. He grabbed Ukon and dragged him out of the bathroom calling good bye to Gaara.

Gaara: "….?..."

* * *

(Skip a few days…..**Friday**)

Kankurou walked out of 7th period and was surprised to see Gaara standing there. He was panting slightly and looked very worried.

"How'd you get up here so fast?"

"Is Neji in class?"

"….no why?"

"He's not in school."

"That would explain why he's not in class then," Kankurou said, grinning, starting to walk down the hall.

"But he's got tryouts today. Neji wouldn't miss tryouts. He's like obsessed with soccer." Gaara had to jog to keep up with his brother's longer strides.

"Yeah, kinda like you're obsessed with him."

(blush) "I am not obsessed," he insisted, folding his arms. "I am _concerned_."

"…Riiiiight."

Gaara glared at him, then looked thoughtful. "What were you doing in the bathroom on Monday? Cause I was thinking about it and it didn't look like you were going."

"Nothing. Stop asking."

"Ok…" Gaara's reply was instant and obedient. Kankurou felt bad as Gaara clamped his mouth shut and became quiet as they continued to walk to the front door of the school. Gaara was use to getting snapped at to be quiet at home; he wasn't surprised that it happened at school too. Damn. Kankurou glared at himself for bringing attributes of their home to school.

Kankurou glanced down at him sideways. "You're not going to the tryouts?" he asked.

"Neji's not here…and I don't really want to go alone."

"Why is something wrong?" Kankurou looked at him, frowning in thought. "Is something bad going on there?"

"No, nothing bad. Don't worry about it," Gaara said, smiling up at him, but in his head an image of Itachi came up into his mind.

Kankurou paused in his stride, then continued. Something was still going on (see chapter 6 at C lunch). Kankurou frowned to himself. Why would something go wrong if Neji was there? It couldn't be Neji that was the problem; Gaara wouldn't try avoiding the Hyuga if it was. Frowning, he realized that it might still be Itachi. Deciding to think about this later he stopped and turned to Gaara. "Look, I'll tell you what," Kankurou said, smiling. "I'll walk you over to Neji's house and you can go see him, alright? You can call when you want to come home and I'll come get you."

Gaara's face brightened. "Really?"

"Sure."

"Thanks."

* * *

The Hyuga estate looked much duller then it did last Friday. Gaara went up to the door and knocked, turning to wave to Kankurou, who was waiting at the end of the driveway. Kankurou waved and turn, continuing down the street with Temari. Gaara turned back to the door and knocked again. The door opened and to Gaara's dismay, it was George who opened the door. But instead of being sarcastic and annoying, George just looked down at him sadly.

"I'm sorry, Gaara-san, I don't think Neji-san wants any guests today," he said, solemnly before Gaara could say anything.

"Why is he sick?" Gaara asked, concerned.

"No."

"What's wrong then? Why wasn't Neji in school? There were tryouts today," Gaara persisted.

"I'm sorry, but Neji—"

"Who is it, George?"

"Hinata-sama," George bowed to her. "Gaara-san is here in concern for Neji-san; however, I don't think today would be—"

"It's alright, thank you George," Hinata said softly. "Gaara is a good friend to come visit and I think Hizashi-ojisan would want to meet him."

"Yes ma'am."

Hinata led Gaara through the main house to the court yard that branched out to the rest of the Hyuga community. Gaara had never been to this part of the Hyuga house before and realized that there were a lot more people in the Hyuga family then he thought. Several black-haired, white-eyed Hyuga's walked by, bowing to Hinata as they passed. Gaara then noticed something about all the Hyuga's. They were all wearing the same clothes as Hinata was wearing, although Hinata was also wearing a thin black drape over her face that swished with each step. Biting his lip he ran up to catch up with Hinata's even stride.

"Hinata?"

"Yes?"

"Why is everyone wearing funeral robes?"

"We are showing our respect by wearing the dark colors of mourning."

"Did someone die?" Gaara asked concerned.

Hinata stopped walking, but didn't turn to him. "Some one…did die…eleven years ago. Someone very close to us." She paused for a moment. "Did you ever wonder…why Neji lives with us in the main house instead of his own?"

"Yes, but I never thought to ask."

Hinata turned to him, slowly and deliberately, her white eyes solemnly looked into his green ones. "Eleven years ago, Neji lost both his parents to a terrible fire…And to this day…Neji still blames himself for it."

* * *

"Neji, someone's here to see you," Hinata said softly.

Neji didn't turn around or acknowledge that he heard her. Hinata turned and left Gaara alone with him. Gaara looked up at the burnt remains of what probably use to be a beautiful house, almost identical to the main house. The front was caved in, revealing in destroyed inside. In the center of the remains, adorned with traditional grave markers, flowers and incense, and newly cleaned, were two white marble grave stones. Gaara fumbled to put his hands together and bowed in respect to the two resting there, then he looked up at Neji.

He was wearing the same kind of black robes as the other Hyuga's, but it made him look very different then what Gaara was use to seeing him. He looked older and very tired. His hair was neither tied back nor covered like it usually was, but falling in his face and down his back, unkept and unwashed. What startled Gaara most was his eyes. They were completely dry, but no longer bright and smiling like they usually were; they were dead. Seeing Neji like this made Gaara's heart hurt. His heart hurt and it scared him.

"You weren't in school today," Gaara said quietly. "So I came to see what was wrong." It sounded very stupid to him, stating the obvious like that, but he couldn't think of anything else to say. He was afraid Neji would turn him away.

"Did Hinata tell you who they are?" Neji asked in a hoarse voice that hadn't spoken in a while.

"Y—yes…"

"Did she tell you how they died?"

"She—she said they died … in a fire…"

"They died looking for their son that disobeyed and left the house without telling anyone. It was my fault they died."

Gaara was taken aback. Neji's voice was distant and cold. "How could it be your fault?" he asked. "Did you lock them in or something?" he asked, trying to grin.

Neji flashed him a glare so angry, Gaara took a step away from him. Neji looked away back at the rubble, his voice very far away. "I was punished and my mother told me to stay in the house. Then she had to go over to the main house for something and asked me to watch the oven for her. When she left I went outside even though I wasn't supposed to. The oven caught something on fire while we were gone and the house started burning. It was really bad; everyone was rushing around trying to put it out. Mom and Dad came and ran inside trying to find me…they never came out."

Gaara looked down at the ground, lightly kicking a small stone at his foot. "But…Neji you were four…you couldn't have done anyth—"

Neji whirled on him, shoving him to the ground. Gaara coward under him, but it only angered him more. "Shut up! What the hell would you know? Why are you even here? Go away!" he turned away from Gaara and continued to stare at the remains of his house.

Gaara remained on the ground, looking sadly at Neji's feet. He bit his lip then spoke again. "When I was growing up…my dad always blamed me for my mom's death. I did too. It was my fault she died and it's my fault Temari and Kankurou's lives suck…"

"Your mother died in child birth. It's very different," Neji said coldly.

"That's what Kankurou always said, but I never believed him," he said. He slumped his shoulders and made little patterns in the dirt. "Once…in Sunaga…I was playing outside and there was a kid playing across the street with his dog…The dog got away from the kid and ran out into the street and the kid followed trying to catch it…The kid's mom ran out into the street and pushed the boy away from the oncoming car that couldn't stop, but she…..Was it the boy's fault his mother died? Kankurou asked me that when I told him about it. I didn't know. Temari said that it's a parent's job to look after their children, just like an older brother or sister is s'pose to look after their younger siblings. You can't blame your self when they're just doing the job they chose."

Gaara looked up and Neji. He was trembling, fist clenched at his sides. Gaara couldn't tell if he was angry or not, but continued, his voice growing a little stronger and steadier.

"Your mom and dad went in to look for you and didn't come out, because they were too worried about you cause they loved you to much to even think about the possibility of leaving you in there. I'm kinda of jealous of you. My dad … wouldn't do that …for me…."

Gaara slowly stood up again and looked up at Neji. "They wouldn't want you to blame yourself because they tried to protect you."

"Shut up," Neji said, his voice cracking. "I—I don't…." he stopped, unable to continue.

Gaara reached out and touched Neji's hand as a gesture of assurance. Neji reached up and wiped his face as held back tears threatened to fall. He felt Gaara's unsure arm go around his shoulder and he allowed him to pull him into a hug. Unable to contain it anymore, Neji broke down and sobbed onto Gaara shoulder. The smaller boy wasn't strong enough to support both their weights and fell to the ground, taking Neji with him, rubbing his back and letting the boy cry.

* * *

George opened the door again a while later, mentally commenting the people who were coming over today. There were three people at the door step. Two he knew the third was a new face.

"Good evening, Kankurou-san, Temari-san," he said nodding towards the two. "Good evening sir."

"I'm here to fetch my son," the man said, looking quite annoyed with that fact. "Where is he?"

"Gaara-san is with Neji-san right now," George said. "They shouldn't be disturbed. Today is a day for mourning in our household and your son is aiding him."

"I do not care. Gaara is coming home with us now," he said coldly.

"Dad…" Temari muttered.

"Who is there, George?" Hiashi asked stepping into the hallway.

"I am Gaara's father. I'm here to retrieve him," he said, turning to the head Hyuga.

"I see," Hiashi stepped up to him, holding out his hand. "Hyuga Hiashi."

"Kazekage," (H-R is lacking in creativity) their father said shaking his hand. "Please take me to Gaara, or bring him here."

"Was there a problem with him coming here sir?" Hiashi asked, after giving a nod to George to go get Gaara. "I, myself, greatly appreciate Gaara coming here. Neji has not yet gotten over his father and mother's death. Gaara's is helping him a lot right now."

"Gaara did not ask for permission to come," he replied.

"I brought him here myself," Kankurou said, glowering behind him.

"It is not your place to give permission to him," his father turned and gave him a glare.

"Hyuga-sama, Gaara-san is not quite ready to leave yet," George said, coming up and bowing to his master.

"Why not?" the Kazekage demanded. "I demand to be taken to him."

The two Hyuga's gave him a long look, then Hiashi said to follow him and led them through the Hyuga house, much like Hinata did with Gaara. He led them out into the courtyard and up to the two boys that still sat on the ground. Gaara still had his arms around Neji who had begun to calm down. Gaara looked up when they approached and gasped, causing Neji to look up as well.

"Gaara, your father is here to take you home," Hiashi said.

"I don't want to go home yet," Gaara stammered out. He looked away quickly as his father gave him a warning glare behind Hiashi's back. Neji saw it though and glared back. Gaara looked down at Neji. "Are you ok?" he whispered.

"I'll be fine," Neji whispered back, wiping his eyes dry. "Go. I don't want you to get into trouble."

"Ok," Gaara said, helping him up.

"You know, Gaara could stay for the night, if he wants," Hiashi said as the two boys approached.

"No, I'd rather him come home," the Kazekage said, his eyes narrowing.

"Really I do not mind."

"No. He's coming home."

"Very well," Hiashi said, leading them back to the front door. Neji and Gaara walked behind the two men. Neji wiped his eyes again and sniffed, then looked at Gaara who was staring at nothing, biting his lip in worry. His hands were clenched in tiny fists. Neji reached out and took his hand giving him some slight comfort. Hiashi glanced back at them then looked forward again, smiling sadly. He knew Gaara would be in trouble when he got home and that upset him. Neji had always held back his emotions on this day, seeming like the undead, but the shy little red headed speck of a boy had made Neji let his emotions out. Hiashi didn't want him to be in trouble for helping.

The four got into Kazekage's car and drove off. Neji and Hiashi waved to them. Gaara and Temari waved back until the car turned the corner. Gaara sat back in the seat with a sigh._ 'Poor Neji…'_ he thought to himself.

"Everything ok?" Kankurou asked, looking over at him.

"How's Neji? He seemed really upset," Temari said, turning to look back at them.

"Neji's mom and dad died eleven years ago today," Gaara said, pulling his knees up to his chest.

"Get your feet of the seat," their father said, glaring into the rearview mirror. Gaara instantly obeyed. "You two were acting very close there," he shifted his gaze from the road to glaring at Gaara. "Why was that?"

"Dude, Neji's dad died. He was upset," Kankurou said. Wasn't that obvious?

"I am not a 'dude'. The brat had himself all over that boy." Gaara continued to stare out the window at the passing trees. "They were holding hands walking back to the door! What are you a fucking fag?"

"Dad…" Temari said. "I would've done that for one of my friends."

Their father sighed in annoyance and continued driving. "Gaara, why did you go over there?" he asked.

"Neji wasn't in school," Gaara murmured.

"And you just decided it was ok to go over there with out asking?"

"I told him to go, dad," Kankurou said, folding his arms and slumping down in his seat. "I told you that before we left. We were worried about him."

Their father glared at him in the mirror, then looked back at Gaara. "You do realize you were _bad_ for going there?"

Kankurou closed his eyes, begging for patience and self control then glanced at his brother. He was staring down at his clenched fists, biting his lip. Their father liked pushing their buttons; and he knew all of Gaara's. Kankurou reached out and messing Gaara's hair and put his arm around his brother's shoulders.

"Good job, kid," he said, smiling at him. Gaara looked up at him confused at first then he smiled and laughed a little. Temari turned around in her chair and smiled too. Both thought about Hiashi's words, very proud of their baby brother.

_Neji has not yet gotten over his father and mother's death. Gaara's is helping him a lot right now_

* * *


	9. Kyu

**Vindicated**

Chapter 9: Kyu

Author's note: wow haven't written one of these in a while. Kyu is SNG's character not mine. That's all.

Oh and frustrating side note to those of my readers who also read Three Again. Last night I finally started writing the last chapter cause there's only one more. I had the dot of inspiration! It was right there! then the fuse blew and I lost it all. BUT I still had the dot! so I started again. I was almost finished! and it happened again! SNG wouldnt stop laughing at me and I lost the dot as I went fuming down to the fuse box again. sorry guys I'll try again later

* * *

(**1st period English 12-Kankurou**)

Every day before school, Kankurou woke up at about five thirty AM, took a shower, ate breakfast, and got ready for school. This, of course, would seem like a good schedule, to most people. And, for most people, it was a good schedule. However, Kankurou went to bed at about three AM, got two and a half hours of sleep, and then went to school. So it wasn't a good schedule. So, no one could really blame Kankurou for wanting to catch a few winks in class, right?

Wrong.

You see, Kurenai did not know that Kankurou only got two and a half hours of sleep every day before going to school.

"Kankurou! Wake up!"

"zzzzz…"

"Right now!"

"zzzzzzzzz…"

"We have a test!"

"zzzzzzzzzzzzz…"

"If you don't take it, you'll fail!"

"zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…"

"Kankurou, I'm handing out cookies, what kind do you want?"

"Chocolate chip," he said, lifting his head at once.

"Tough luck. Take the test." She smacked a piece of paper on his desk and walked away.

Kankurou looked down at the piece of paper with loathing. "I don't even know what the frickin' test is _about_," he muttered, reaching in his backpack for a pencil. "…Hell, I don't even have a pencil, so it doesn't even make a difference."

He sighed, leaning forward and tapping the girl in front of him on the shoulder. "Hey, can I borrow a pencil and any information you may have on this test?"

"Sure," she said, turning around and handing him a pencil. "It's kind of like spelling or whatever. You have to show the meaning of the words listed, and then put them in a proper sentence. It's pretty easy, but they're kind of hard words so I suggest you..."

Kankurou just starred at her as she explained the test to him in a hushed voice, so Kurenai couldn't hear her. Actually, Kankurou couldn't hear her either; he was busy in la-la land, starring at her. He'd always slept through this class, or been almost-half-awake, so he'd never really paid attention to the people around him. Now, he almost wished he had paid at least a little attention.

The girl in the seat in front of him had long, pretty black hair she pulled back out of her face with little blue clips that matched her eye-color, which was, obviously, blue. She wore a light blue, button-down shirt with the first three buttons undone, showing that she wore a white tank top underneath. She also wore a dark blue mini skirt with a flower stitched in white in the lower left-hand corner, and for shoes she wore strapped up black heels.

Now, normally, Kankurou didn't like girls who dressed "pretty-pretty", and always looked on them with slight distain, and avoided them. However, this girl's clothes didn't make him label her as one of those girls. But rather, he thought her choice of clothes just made her… well… pretty.

"…and that's how you do it, ok?" the girl finished, flashing him a quick smile.

Kankurou shook himself back into reality. "H-Huh? Um… right. Ok." He took the pencil she was still offering. He looked down at it. _Pretty girl pencil…_ was all he could think of, looking at the little flower-shaped eraser stuck on the end, and the little, glittery stickers all over it.

"Kankurou! Are you gonna stare at that pencil, or use it?"

"Well, use it, duh," he answered, turning the test paper over so he could see the questions. Heaving a huge sigh, he poised his—er, her pencil over the first question, reading through. "…"

_Ok, yeah, I wasn't paying one iota of attention to what she was saying. _

After class, Kankurou turned his test paper in with the rest of the class. He'd managed to scrounge a respectable answer for each of the questions by looking off of other people's papers, but he knew he wouldn't get anything past a C, since there was stuff he figured he needed to study for to get the answer.

Damn those teachers, trying to bend students to their will.

Kankurou looked down at the pencil in his hand. He'd accidentally chewed on it sometime during the test, but he didn't think the girl would notice, as he shouldered his way through the crowd to where he saw the girl leaving with two of her friends.

"Um," he said, tapping her on the shoulder.

She turned around, face blank, until she saw it was him, then smiled. "Yes?"

He held out the pencil.

"Oh, you can keep it," she said, her smile brightening until he felt, or rather, couldn't feel, his knees anymore. "I have others."

"Um…" He looked down at the sparkles and flowers. "N-No, I really think you should take it back…"

One of the girl's friends laughed; Kankurou saw it was a boy, with shaggy, long brown hair. "Come on, Kyu, don't embarrass the guy with all your flowery, sparkly stuff."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Hyo," she said, saying the word 'whatever' with supreme emphasis on the last syllable as she took the pencil away from Kankurou. She smiled at Kankurou, backing out with her friends. "I'll see you tomorrow, ok? Bye!"

Once she was gone, Kankurou grabbed one of the kids passing him and asked, "Are they going out?"

"Huh? Who?" the kid asked, slightly terrified of this strange kid who wore chains and spikes.

"Those two." Kankurou pointed with his free hand at Kyu and Hyo's retreating backs.

"Um… no… they've known each other since grade school, though… why?"

Kankurou ignored the question and dropped the kid, heading to the second floor. He had a druggie to meet in five minutes, but he wasn't only half-thinking about the little druggie, and half-thinking about the girl named Kyu, and the feeling of relief he'd gotten when the kid had told him that she and Hyo weren't going out.

"Hey! Birthday boy's brother!"

"Oh, shut up, Ukon, you know my name," Kankurou groaned, turning in time to be enveloped in a huge, shameless bear hug from the older twin.

"Yes, but 'birthday boy's brother' makes you so much more unique!" Ukon cried, hugging him again. "It's the differences in our world that make us so much brighter!"

"…Don't smoke before going to school, ok?"

(**1st period-Government-Gaara**)

Gaara slumped down on his desk as Genma put the drill up, leaning on his elbow. Like her really cared about the U.S legislative branch. Why would he need to know this stuff? They didn't live in America! Not that he would ever speak these thoughts aloud, but he felt as though what ever listened to his thoughts could use this information for what ever use they had for it. He copied down the drill anyway and waited to get the answer when they went over it. Genma walked around the class as they wrote their answers, stopping at his desk and leaning down.

"That's not an answer," he said, tapping his paper.

"I'm thinking," Gaara stammered out a lie, mentally hitting himself for not making it sound more convincing.

"Alright," Genma said, with a whatever grin. "Where were you on Friday?"

"Um…I was with Neji. He—"

"Oh, alright. I was just wondering," Genma said quickly, standing.

Gaara watched him go back to his desk and pull out a large envelope of papers. He came back and put the envelope on his desk.

"Do you have a computer at home?" Genma asked.

"My sister does," Gaara replied, looking at the envelope in question.

"Could you type this stuff out for me? It's only like 3 pages worth of stuff. The things I want are hand written the other stuff you don't have to worry about," Genma told him. "Don't let anyone see it though, it's got the results in it. I need it by Thursday."

"Alright," Gaara said, putting the envelope in his backpack. He happened to glance over at Kiba as he sat up again. The brown haired boy was giving him an obsessive look of desperation. He quickly looked away, pretending nothing happened. He was going to get it in gym.

(**Dreaded 4th pd-Gym-Gaara etc**)

"Lemme see it!"

"No! I'm not allowed to let anyone see it," Gaara stammered, terrified with his back to the wall.

"_Please_ Gaara?" Kiba begged coming closer.

Gaara whimpered and inched to the side until he found himself stuck in the corner between the wall and the lockers. Glancing at his open locker, he grabbed his backpack and stuffed it inside, slamming it shut. Kiba stood back and folded his arms.

"Oh that's cold," he said.

Gaara bit his lip and looked down. "Sorry…but … Genma didn't w—want anyone to—to see it yet."

"Stop stammering and open it!" Kiba said frantically pointing at the locker.

"Kiba-kun!" Haku cried coming around the lockers.

"Haku!" Kiba cried, turning to him. "Gaara has the results for the soccer tryout and he wont show me!"

Long pause.

"So?" Haku asked.

"Haku!"

"You're scaring Gaara-chan!" Haku shouted.

Kiba started and turned to Gaara, who had slumped down to the floor shaking horribly. Haku walked past him to stand next to Gaara then turn back to Kiba, arms crossed giving him a pointed look.

"I'm sorry, Gaara!" he cried, kneeling down to his level. "I was just playing, I swear!"

Gaara made an unsure mumble and looked down at his knees.

"I was being an idiot! Really, I'm sorry," Kiba said. "Here, smack me. It'll make you feel better."

"W—what?" Gaara stared up at him.

"Right here," he said pointing at his cheek. "Smack me."

"I'm not gonna smack you!" Gaara stammered out.

"I'll do it!" Haku offered cheerfully.

"No," Kiba said glaring. "You're dangerous."

("Hey!")

"Come on!" Kiba encouraged. He took Gaara's hand and smacked himself with Gaara's hand harder then he intended. "Ow…"

Gaara pulled his hand away staring wide eyed at him. "I'm sorry!" he cried.

"Not your fault," Kiba groaned.

Haku threw his head back and laughed as Kiba rubbed his cheek. They helped Gaara back up to his feet and walked him out of the locker room where the squads were forming. Kiba turned to Gaara before they separated.

"But really…when is the list going to be up?" he asked.

"Thursday…or—or Friday," Gaara said.

"Ok, thanks."

* * *

Neji walked the three siblings back to their house. Temari and Kankurou walked ahead, using all their willpower to not look back at them. Neji looked at Gaara in concern and took his hand in his.

"Hey, did you get in trouble last Friday?" Neji asked, giving his hand a squeeze.

Gaara shook his head and closed his hands in Neji's as well. "No. Dad dropped us off then drove off. I was in Kankurou's room when he got home so nothing happened…"

Neji leaned over to him sideways and gave him the bored cow face. "Are you telling me the truth?" he inquired.

"Yes!" Gaara assured him.

"Alright," Neji said standing straight again. When they got to the house, Temari and Kankurou went in, but Neji held Gaara back a minute. "Hey, is your dad home?"

"Um,…no. Why?" Gaara asked, after checking the driveway.

"So I could do this," Neji said, leaning over and kissing his cheek. He smiled as Gaara's entire face erupted in blush. "Since you know, he said he's not all cool with us together."

"Um…uh…I—heh," Gaara stammered, blushing redder.

"What's wrong?" Neji asked, smiling to himself. Gaara tried to explain himself, but all that came out was more studdering. "You're not _embarrassed_ are you?"

"Mnnnnn." Gaara smacked a hand over his face to hide his blushing.

Neji laughed and hugged him. "I'm sorry," he said, his shoulders shaking from laughing.

"It's ok," Gaara's muffled voice said.

"Are you upset?"

Gaara shook his head against him.

Neji smiled, brushing his red hair away. Gaara looked up, through his fingers, still blushing. Neji moved them away, smiling wider. They stared at each other, studying each other's faces.

"Oh, come on! Kiss each other already!"

Neji and Gaara broke away from each other, now both blushing, as Temari and Kankurou leaned out the window giggling to them selves. They pulled themselves back inside laughing. Neji turned back to Gaara, whose face matched his hair. Making sure they were gone, Neji reached out and lightly touched Gaara's cheek. Gaara looked up at him, still embarrassed. Neji grinned, his eyes laughing. The way Gaara liked it. Not like how they were last Friday. He thought they look much prettier when they were laughing.

"See ya, tomorrow," Neji said turning.

Gaara stopped him with a tiny tug of his sleeve, then stood up on his toes and kissed Neji's cheek. "Bye," he said quickly, running inside and shutting the door as quickly as he could.

Neji looked at the closed door then smiled and laughed, walking away. He touched his cheek where Gaara's lips had touched. He tried to stop smiling, but his face muscles were stuck. _'Oh, god. I feel like a preppy middle school girl…'_ he paused a moment, thinking about Gaara's blushing face. _'….and I don't care! He was so cute!'_

* * *

Neji went to school the next morning, in the happiest mood he'd been in in a long time. As he stopped at his locker to drop his stuff off, he felt someone lean against the lockers next to him. Turning, he groaned, seeing Kankurou there, and Ukon with the biggest grins on their faces. Neji swallowed hard and closed his locker, trying to walk away as fast as he could. Kankurou grabbed him and pulled him back.

"Dude, you kissed my brother," Kankurou said.

"And that of course gives him license to either a) kill you or b) mock you," Ukon said brightly.

"How'd he find out?" Neji asked.

"Um….yeah, he's been _buying_ from me for a while, you know? We just sorta became friends," Kankurou said, shrugging.

"Is that what's always wrong with him?"

("Hey!")

"So anyways," Kankurou said. "We need to go over some ground rules."

"Rules?"

"Duh, rules to date my brother," Kankurou said, with a very fake grin.

"Uh, I'm suppose to meet Gaara near the art wing soon so—" Kankurou and Ukon picked Neji up and carried him away. "Oh shit…"

* * *

Gaara looked up when Neji sat down next to him later, looking very harassed.

"What's wrong?" Gaara asked.

"Nothing," Neji said, in a very false voice.

"Are you telling me the truth?" Gaara asked, grinning.

"Um….no. I just got away from your brother and Ukon," Neji said.

"Huh?"

"Nothing, it's ok, they just wanted to talk," Neji said putting his arm around Gaara.

"O…k…"

* * *

(**1st period English 12-Kankurou**)

Kankurou couldn't shake Ukon off after they 'talked' to Neji. Ukon had been very helpful in coming up with additives to the enormous list of rules Kankurou had made up the previous night and on the spot then. He almost felt sorry for the Hyuga. Ukon accompanied him inside his homeroom class, as well, talking his head off the entire time.

"…Ukon, what are you doing here?" Kurenai asked suspiciously.

"Why, hello, sensei, how are you on this fine day?" Ukon cried, hailing her.

"…I _was_ fine."

"Good, good, very good! Keep up the good work!" Ukon gave her a double thumbs-up before turning back to Kankurou, who was about to pass out on his desk.

"Oh—my—god! Ukon-chan!"

Ukon whipped around, eyes sparkling. "Kyu-chan!"

Kankurou's head popped up at once as Kyu, clad in purple-colored clothes today, swept over to Ukon, and the two glomped each other.

"Oh my god, Kyu-chan," Ukon said, upon seeing the lolli-pop in Kyu's mouth. "How much do you love me?"

"Like a fat kid loves cake," she said with a bright smile, taking the candy out of her mouth and holding it out to him.

Kankurou grimaced slightly as Ukon took a lick. Seeing the look, Kyu held it out to him, as well. "Want some?"

"I'd rather chew my leg off then share saliva with that nutcase."

"I heart you, too, honey," Ukon said with a bright smile, taking another lick at the lolli pop, then Kyu popped the candy right back in her mouth.

Kyu's eyes widened. "Oh, my god," she said around the lolli pop. "Are you two…?"

"NO!" Kankurou said at once, his face draining of color.

"No, it's his brother who's gay," Ukon said, resting his elbow on Kyu's shoulder. Catching the look Kankurou shot him, he added quickly, "But that's ok!"

(**5th period-Biology-Gaara**)

Ibiki-sensei separated all the students into groups of two and sent them to their stations. They were dissecting frogs today. Gaara thought that was pretty disgusting. Why would anyone want to know what was inside a frog? He looked at his partner, as his partner glanced over at him. Well, Gaara couldn't quite tell if he really looked at him or not, since the boy was wearing sunglasses.

"Shino," the boy said.

"…Gaara," he replied.

"I know," Shino said shortly. There was a long, uncomfortable pause between them. Shino watched him from behind his glasses. "Why are you fidgeting like that?"

Gaara blushed and automatically brought his hands to his mouth where he chewed on his finger. In response to Shino's question, he simply gave a tiny shrug. "I—I don't…really k—know you…"

Shino nodded, then frowned as he looked down at their frog. He took the knife thing they were going to use and stabbed the frog through the neck.

Gaara jumped at this sudden motion and stared. The frog had been treated so no blood ran, but Shino continued grinding the knife in the creature's throat with malice. "You…don't like frogs?" Gaara ventured quietly.

"They all should die." (SNG: Bug-eaters, you know?)

"Shino-kun, you're suppose to dissect it, not kill it," Ibiki said, sweat dropping.

Grind-grind.

"Shino-kun if you don't stop, I'm not going to allow you to do the cutting part of this assignment," Ibiki said.

Grind-grind.

"Shino-kun stop now."

Shino stopped and gave the knife to Gaara. Ibiki, satisfied, turned and walked over to a group that needed help. Gaara looked down at the knife in his hand, eyes wide. The last time he held a knife….

**Flashback**

_Gaara leaned against the sink, biting his lip as the sharp quick pain flashed, then it stopped. He let the knife drop to his right on bathroom floor while his bleeding arm fell to his left. He stared across the room at the bathroom wall. His right chest still hurt from where his father had smeared a thick lit candle there, letting the burning wax sit before ripping it, dry, off. What had he done again? ……dropped something…_

_His head tilted slowly to the side to stare at his arm, stained red with blood. Why did everything hurt so bad?_

_

* * *

_

"_Promise me you wont do anything like that again," Neji said, during a conversation before school. "I don't want you to go."_

_

* * *

_

"_No. I'm not mad …. just …. disappointed. Don't you ever do it again," Kankurou said._

**End flashback**

Gaara shook his head, absentmindedly reaching up with his left hand to touch his chest where the red scar was still visible from the hot wax. Then he looked down at his wrist. He wouldn't do it again, ever.

Shino read the directions aloud to him and Gaara cut open the frog like he told him, still thoroughly grossed out. Shino took notes on both their papers. Neither spoke, unless it was about the work, but neither minded, as neither were much talkers. The class was running smoothly, nothing bad happened. At least nothing bad happened until some of the other boys in class began chasing the girls around the room with frog eyes they'd cut out. One of them ran past Shino and Gaara table, bumping into the redhead as he was cutting out the heart to make Shino happy. His hand holding the knife slipped.

"Oh, my god, you're bleeding!" one of the girls cried.

"Ibiki-sensei!"

Gaara stared down at his wrist. The warm blood flowed out of the large cut quietly and deliberately down his arm and hand, dripping on the floor and table. He ignored the screaming people around him, snapping out of his trance as Ibiki ran over, wrapping a cloth around the cut quickly, tying it tight.

"Everyone calm down!" Ibiki roared, silencing them. "Stay put, I'll be back. Gaara come with me to the nurse."

Ibiki led Gaara downstairs, holding the cloth firmly on the cut. The nurse took him in and sat him down in a chair, making him hold his arm up in the air to limit the flow up blood going to his wrist. She cleaned around the cut then put antibiotics on it that made it hurt worse then it already did, but she pointed out that the knife had been used to cut a preserved frog and he'd get very sick if she didn't. She put gauze over the cut and wrapped it up tightly with white bandages. The nurse told Ibiki that Gaara was fine with her and that he should go back to his class. Ibiki nodded then turned, leaving Gaara alone with the nurse.

"Hi, it's Gaara, right?" the nurse said to him, smiling. "Well, Gaara-kun, you've never been down to see me, I'd like to make out a card for you to keep in my records ok?"

Gaara watched her warily, his arm still in the air where she told him to keep it. She smiled at him, then tilted her head slightly to the side and got up again, moving over to him.

"What's this?" she asked taking his arm he was still holding up and pulling it where she could see it better.

Gaara's eyes widened when he thought she had seen his cuts, but as he glanced at his arm he saw old bruises littering his arm, showing now that his sleeve was rolled up. Gaara tried to stammer out an explanation, but nothing but incoherent gibberish came out.

"Gaara-kun, is something wrong?" the nurse asked as he tried to tug his arm away from her.

"N—no."

"Where'd did you get these?" she listened for a moment as Gaara stammered again then asked another question. "Do you have more?"

"No!" Gaara cried, his brain jumping into gear as her hand moved near the hem of his shirt. "My-brother-and-I-were-wrestling-and-we-bumped-into-his-desk-and-his-books-fell-on-my-arm."

The nurse raised an eyebrow then forced her smile back on her face.

"Alright then," she said, turning back to her desk. "You and your brother should be more careful."

She rummaged in a drawer and pulled out a blank index card about the size of a normal piece of paper. She wrote down his name and why he was there in her office before turning to him for the rest.

"Ok then," she said smiling. "Birthday?"

Gaara answered all her questions with as short answers as he could. He hated doctors and hospitals always freaked him out, but the nurse seemed nice and he couldn't see any needles present in the room. When she asked him his height and weight he wasn't sure so she took him over to her scale and measurer. As she weighted him, she frowned.

"Gaara-kun," she said looking at him in concerned. "Do you have any eating problems that you know of?"

"N—no…why?"

"Because you're almost twenty pounds under weight," she replied, in a concern voice as she took that number down. "That's very unhealthy and it concerns me." She moved him over to the measurer on the wall and measured his height. She wrote that number down then brought him back to her office. "Everything else is normal…although you're a bit under height as well, but that doesn't concern me much. You being so under weight is a thing to be examined."

"Examined?" Gaara said, worried now.

"What lunch do you have?" she asked, folding her arms in front of her as she sat down behind her desk.

"D lunch."

"Did you eat anything?"

"My sister packed my lunch," Gaara said.

"What was in it?" she asked kindly.

Gaara thought for a moment. "A lunch meat sandwich with stuff on it, carrots, um…a bag of chips and cookies and we got drinks at the 7/11 on our way to school," he said.

"Did you eat it all?"

"Most of it," Gaara said. "I wasn't really hungry today though."

"I see," she said nodding, writing stuff down. "What about breakfast?"

"We don't eat breakfast," Gaara muttered. "We try to get out of the house as soon as poss—" Gaara cut himself off before he said to much.

"I see….what about dinner? Do you eat a lot at dinner or only a little?"

"Um…I eat dinner," Gaara said. Dinner at their house was a nervous thing though. At least, when they ate together as a family it was. Any other time, Temari would cook, or Kankurou would order out. But he always ate, even at least what he was allowed.

The nurse stood and walked over to him, taking his chin and examining him. He bit his lip and continued to watch her nervously, he hands shaking slightly. She reached up and touched the dark circles around his eyes. Not expecting the physical contact near his eyes, Gaara jumped back.

"Sorry," she apologized. "That isn't make-up, is it? Do you have sleeping problems?"

"Why are you being so nosy?" Gaara demanded, mimicking the tone Kankurou used a lot.

"I'm sorry, I'm just concerned," she said. "You're condition could be very serious, you know. I'm just trying to help."

"Well, don't. I'm fine," Gaara said, angrily. "Can I please go back to class now?"

"The bell already rang," she said. "One of your classmates dropped your things off while we were talking. I'll write you a pass to your next class."

Gaara went out and picked up his bag and waited for her to bring him the pass. She came out a few minutes later and handed him the blue pass.

"Listen," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "If you need to talk about anything, feel free to talk to me, or one of your teachers, alright? We're here to help."

Gaara nodded then left, closing the door gently behind him and went to his next class.

* * *

When he left the nurse went back to her desk and picked up his card, scanning it. After thinking a bit more, she picked up her phone and dialed.

* * *

**Dragon man: **(fotfl) funny mental picture! Side story for D-man:

Gaara glanced back at the limo for the 17th time, then back up at Neji.

"Um…is he gonna follow us the whole time?" Gaara asked quietly.

Neji sighed. "Unfortunately," he said as he glanced back at the long car driving slowly behind them. "Hiashi-ojisan wanted me to ride home, so I have to get in the car after I drop you off."

"Oh," Gaara replied.

They walked in semi silence until they reached Gaara's house. Neji smiled and hugged Gaara goodbye then watched as he started walking across the street, but stopped as his father came out. he tried to turn and walk quickly back to Neji, but to late as his father already spotted him.

"Gaara!" he shouted. "You're late! Get in the house!" He started walking out in the street to where Gaara was standing.

Neji grabbed Gaara and pulled him off the road, just as his father reached him. Unfortunately, George had forgotten to check the brakes on the limo before he left and couldn't stop in time as the Kazekage ran out in front of him.

Hanabi stuck her head out of the limo window and stared. "WHOA! Road pizza!"

Neji and Gaara turned towards the audience and smiled.

"And that children is why you must look both ways before crossing the road," Neji said, gesturing towards the car. "You never know when a car wont be able to stop."

The end.

**Chronic-fever:** I got that peace sign from this wannabe gangster freshman kid in my old gov't class. Its kind of a 'yo yo what's up' kind of peace sign. It's really sad. People tell me 'oh I love this chapter so and so was awesome' and then I'm like "….what happened in this chapter again….?" lol

**KaibasShadowGirl:** girl, the dots of inspiration are returning! I might do that, but I don't know when or if it's gonna be added onto the chapters I'm reposting. But I'm thinking about it


	10. Arguments

**Vindicated**

Chapter 10: Arguments

* * *

**KaibasShadowGirl: **High school fics rock! It's my new favorite kind of fic. I'm on like a roll here. I've got another fic coming out soon that's also AU high school. SNG and I thank you for your complements.

**Ebony:** Ur back! (glomps Ebony) I miss you sooo much. Tornados are cool! My friend's scared of them though, I'm like, but their cool! And she's like have you seen what they can do to houses? And I'm like duh I saw twister!

**Chronic-fever:** Yeah I know they do. He'll come up to me in class (he was in two of them) and be like "Hey, 'sup wit cho make-up, yo?" Me (wearing 'panda makeup'): "I don't know, what's up with cho voice?" him: "Dar ain't nottin wrong wit mah voice, girl!" me: "We must not speak the same language then."

**Dragon man 180:** Glad u like. My sister (sng) was reading over my shoulder and was like "wtf?" then she laughed and said that george should loose control over the limo when coming to pick up Neji and Gaara from soccer and run over Itachi. To think Itachi use to be her favorite character .

**Junsui Kegasu: **Once again, I had to look back and be like "what happened at the beginning of this chapter again?" lol I like the cookies. SNG wrote that part cause Kyu was in it. it's actually happened to her before. Her teacher use to send her out and make her walk around the hallways until she woke up. She'd come and hang out with me at my lunch.

Oh, note to anyone who's interested. I have a profile on www dot deviantart dot com with some of my art work and a picture of SNG and my self. Just in case you've ever wondered about the face behind the name. (i do all the time) My name's Shukaku-chan on the site.

* * *

Temari and Kankurou walked on either side of Gaara, talking randomly or listening to Kankurou, who was the one talking randomly. Some of it was bashing Ukon, who never told him he was friends with Kyu, who was a girl in his class that was "totally hot". He knew he never told Ukon that he liked Kyu, but still he could have told him that they were friends. Sometime during the walk, Gaara asked Temari if he could use her computer for a bit and she said of course. Then Kankurou started talking about Kyu again and neither of his siblings got another word in.

As they got to the turn that led them to their house, Kankurou stopped them.

"Look, I promised some friends I'd meet them after school to hang out, so I'll be home later ok?" he said, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb at nothing.

"Ok," Temari and Gaara said, wondering who he was meeting. They were answered almost immediately.

"HI BIRTHDAY BOY!"

Gaara: (vein mark)

Ukon waved from the other street at them, smiling broadly.

"Why Ukon?" Temari asked.

Kankurou shrugged in his casual way. "Donno, he invited me and it just sounded like fun. See ya."

Kankurou turned down another street, as Temari and Gaara turned down theirs. They got home and put their stuff away. Gaara went into Temari's room and sat at her desk and took out the packet. He took out the handwritten papers and began copying them on the computer. The first one was a letter to those that didn't make it to the soccer team, saying that they appreciated them trying out and they wished for them to stay active in sports. The second was the list of underclassmen that made the team. Gaara scanned it, instantly looking for Neji's name. He found it, though he didn't know why he felt so relieved. Even he could tell Neji was a good player, no one doubted him making it. He finished typing out everyone's names, noticing Kiba made it too. Starting a new page, he picked up the third paper. This was the upperclassmen, varsity players. He didn't know any of the varsity tryouts so he simply started typing their names out. As he neared the end, he noticed a name that made him stop and stare.

_Uchiha Itachi-senior_

Gaara swallowed and typed his name in too. If there was anyone he didn't want to make it, it would have been him. But Neji had said that he was a good player too, even if he was an ass….Gaara groaned. He didn't want to put up with that guy every practice and game.

"Boy! Get down here! Now!"

Gaara froze in mid type and Temari looked up from her homework. With a sigh, Gaara saved what he'd typed already and went down stairs. His father was waiting for him in the family room, sitting on an over stuffed chair. Gaara went over and stood in the middle of the room, chewing nervously on the edge of his sleeve.

"I got a phone call today," he started. "from the nurse at your school."

Gaara held back the worried 'meep' that threatened to come out.

"She's_ concerned_ about you. Says your very underweight and unhealthily skinny….You went down to see her today because some accident happened in class and you got cut."

Gaara held out his left hand, showing the bandages there.

His father nodded. "She noticed something though, that she felt necessary to 'bring to my attention'. She says you have several bruises on your arm that you _say_ you received while playing with your brother," he scoffed, then continued, "but what 'concerned her more' were several other cuts on your wrist that she doesn't think are accidents."

Gaara swallowed hard, unconsciously putting his hands behind his back.

"Show me."

"I—I can't. The bandage isn't s'pose to come off yet."

"No that one, the others."

"They're covered by the bandage."

"Show me now."

"I can't!"

His father stood up and quickly went over to him. He grabbed Gaara's arm as he tried to move away, and twisted it in a way to Gaara couldn't protest. He ripped the bandages off and held his arm up so he could see. Gaara bit his lip and waited as his arm was examined. The silence was agonizing. His father dropped his arm, grabbing the front of his shirt instead and threw him across the room into the wall.

"You bastard! What the fuck were you thinking?" his father strode over to him and began pounding him into the floor. Each blow was followed by an insult. "Do you realize what I'll do if you tell anyone? Do you? No! You don't! You think the world revolves around your pathetic ass!"

He picked Gaara up and slammed him into the wall, knocking one of the pictures down. As Gaara slipped back down to the floor, he grabbed him by the back of his shirt and dragged him into the kitchen, tossing him like a rag doll down the basement stairs. Gaara cried out in pain as he hit each step, landing in a painful, bloody heap on the cold hard floor. His father came down as well, grabbing him and carrying him to the back of the basement.

"Now. I'll show you what I'll do if you tell anyone," he heard his father's voice murmur, cold and menacing. He had picked up the pipe again. "And I'll finish what I started last week. And trust me, Kankurou won't be coming to save your sorry ass."

* * *

Temari clutched one of her pillowed, covering her ears as her brother's screams and sobs sounded from the basement. It amazed her how her quiet baby brother could make such loud noises, but these thoughts only came to her subconsciously. His begging sobs for reprieve reached her, though fell on the deaf ears of their father. She was scared and didn't know what to do. Kankurou wasn't there to stop him this time and she wasn't strong enough to do anything. Terrified, she dove under her pillows trying to block up the sounds that broke her heart.

'_Kankurou where are you?'_

* * *

Kankurou and Ukon stopped at Starbucks to grab some coffee. Kankurou was impressed. Ukon hadn't yet asked for dope and was acting normal, which was, unfortunately, not much unlike when he was high; although, he could be serious now if he wanted. They were having a good time. They went girl watching, the movies—the movie they went to see actually sucked so they left and went to the arcade. When it got close to dinner, Kankurou and Ukon said their goodbyes and went home.

The home phone rang just as Kankurou stepped in.

"Anyone gonna get that?" he called.

No reply.

Kankurou sighed and picked up the phone in the living room. "Hello?"

"Hey, Kankurou, is Gaara there?"

"Hey Neji," Kankurou said into the phone. "I donno I just got home, hang on." He went up stairs and looked in his room. No one was there so he went in Temari's room. "Temari is Gaara here? Temari?" He stared when he say her huddled on her bed, face soaked in tears. His eyes widened and he nearly let the phone slip from his fingers. Kankurou slowly brought the phone back up to his ear. "Neji…I'll call you back in a bit, ok?"

"Why is something wrong? Kank—"

Kankurou hung up and ran over to Temari. "Temari, where's Gaara?" she didn't answer. "Temari!" he shouted frantically, shaking her. "Where is he?"

"Down stairs," she said in a quiet voice, tears falling fresh.

Kankurou let do of her and ran down stairs. Fear rose at every step. No one was on the first floor so he ran down the basement. He paused for a moment, taking in the scene.

Gaara was lying, unmoving, facedown in a crumpled heap on the floor. His clothes were torn and he could see blood clumped in his hair. Blood was dripping from his nose and mouth, but that didn't bother Kankurou as much as the red stained shirt and the blood on the floor. He could see cuts through his torn shirt, but couldn't tell how deep they were. Bruises were everywhere of the tiny body and his arm was lying at a funny angle.

"Oh, my god! Gaara!" Kankurou ran over to him and gently moved him. Seeing how bad he was hurt, Kankurou pulled him onto his lap, hugging him gently. "I'm so sorry, Gaara, I shouldn't have gone out!" he bit his lip as his vision began to blur from tears that wanted to fall. Over and over in his head he begged Gaara to not be dead, but he was afraid to check.

"…K—Kank…ur..ou?"

Kankurou gasped and looked down at his brother. His eyes were partially cracked open and there was a little smile on his face.

"You're back…"

"Oh god…" was all Kankurou could get out. He hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry, Gaara," he said quietly.

"Kan…kurou?"

"Yes?"

"My arm hurts."

"It's ok, I'll check it."

He gently picked Gaara up, making sure the hurt arm was in a comfortable position, and took him up stairs to his room. As he went up the stairs, a small weak hand clutched a tiny fist full of his shirt. Kankurou held him tighter and opened the door to his, laying him on the bed.

* * *

Temari woke up the next day, exhausted with dark circles under her eyes.

She and Kankurou stayed up late taking care of Gaara. They had run out of bandages and had to get more from the store. Kankurou went up to their father's room and banged on the door. He demanded that their father go out and get more. After a few minutes of arguing, their father finally left, driving to the store and coming back to drop the bag in Kankurou's room. Temari told him she thought Gaara's arm might be broken. Grumbling loudly, their father had come back in the room and checked the arm. He told them that it wasn't broken, but they should wrap it up with something straight. He then told them not to bother him again, went back to his room and shut the door, barely giving his children another thought.

Gaara had lost consciousness on his way up to Kankurou's room and was still asleep; she noticed when she peeked into Kankurou's room. Both were still asleep on the bed. Kankurou, however, woke up when she opened the door.

"Morning," he mumbled.

"Kankurou, I don't think Gaara should go to school," she said, quietly.

"Me either," Kankurou said, staring at the ceiling.

"I'm sorry I didn't do anything," Temari murmured.

Kankurou smiled at her. "It's ok. Gaara's alright now."

"But he lost a lot of blood last night," she insisted. "A—and he looks horrible!"

"I know, I know," Kankurou said, calmly, trying to calm her. "I'm staying home with him to make sure he's ok. I don't want him alone here. You go to school ok?"

"But…I—"

"No, I don't want you getting in trouble at school for being absent."

Temari sighed. "Alright," she mumbled heading towards the bathroom to take a shower.

Kankurou looked over at the door then down at Gaara's bruised and cut, yet peacefully sleeping face, cursing under his breath.

* * *

"Temari, where're your brothers?"

"They woke up late," Temari lied to her father as he got in his car, just as she was leaving. "They're taking their showers now, and are gonna walk together. I was ready so I'm leaving now."

"Alright," her father said. "Get in, I'll drive you."

Temari sighed, she didn't want to drive with him, but couldn't force herself to say no, so she got in.

Ukon and Neji were waiting for her at the front of the school.

"Hey Temari, where's Kankurou?" Ukon asked.

"Where's Gaara?" Neji demanded.

Temari frowned. "Hello to you too," she said walking passed them.

"Is Gaara alright?" Neji asked worried. "You guys never called me back and Kankurou sounded worried on the phone."

Temari ignored him, not quite sure what to say. She knew he would skip school and go over to the house if he knew. That might make things worse. Ukon came up next to her.

"Is Kankurou sick?" he asked.

"Yeah," Temari muttered.

"Ok," Ukon said brightly, standing up straight. "I'll get his work and stuff from his teachers."

"You're not in any of his classes."

"I know someone who can get them for him."

* * *

(**2nd period-Economics**)

"Please Kyu-chan?" Ukon begged.

"Why do you want me to get their work?" Kyu asked, twirling a pencil around her fingers.

"Cause you know, you're on the yearbook staff and all and can get their classes and go to their teachers. Everyone trusts you Kyu-chan," Ukon said.

Kyu sighed. "Fine, I'll get their stuff during lunch." She thought for a moment. "I'll take it to them too, after school."

Ukon blinked, then a sly grin spread across his face. "That's so nice of you Kyu-chan!"

She suspiciously narrowed her eyes at him ever so slightly. "That's because I'm a nice person."

"Sure you are, Kyu-chan," Ukon said slyly, anime cat-whiskers appearing on his cheeks.

"Ukon, what are you doing in my class?" Genma called, frowning.

"Oh, hi, sensei!" Ukon chirped. Seeing the look Genma was giving him, he quickly said, "Bye, Sensei! Bye, Kyu-chan, I heart you!" before he was bodily thrown out of the class.

* * *

Gaara groaned and slowly opened his eyes. He knew where he was the second he opened them. He wasn't sure if he could recognize his own room like he could Kankurou's. Memories of the night before came back to him and he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block them out. Temari and Kankurou must be at school.

"Hey, you're awake."

Gaara started and, turning his head, saw his brother lying on the bed next to him. "Why aren't you in school?" he asked, frowning. He could hear how pathetically weak his own voice sounded and he found his throat hurt almost too much to talk.

"Stayed home (fake cough) sick," Kankurou said. "I didn't want you here by your self."

"Oh, thanks," Gaara said quietly.

Kankurou looked at him for a bit before continuing. "Gaara, why'd you cut yourself again?" he asked quietly.

"Huh?"

"I saw the new cut," Kankurou said.

"I didn't!" Gaara insisted. "I mean I did, but it was an accident, someone bumped me. I swear," he added when Kankurou gave him a disbelieving look. "You can ask my teacher."

"Alright," Kankurou said, sitting up. "You hungry? I'll make you something."

"Ok. Hey Kankurou?"

"Yeah?" Kankurou stopped at the door and looked back.

"Thanks for letting me stay home, I feel horrible."

"That's ok. You look horrible too," Kankurou said, grinning as he went downstairs.

* * *

"So, I was wondering, Shizune-sensei, if I could please have Kankurou-kun's make-up work?" Kyu said sweetly, folding her hands behind her back.

"I don't see why, since he's barely here, but alright." Shizune gave her a few papers.

Kyu consulted the two schedules in her hand, adding the papers Shizune had given her to her backpack. _Kankurou's English class is nearby, so I'll go there before Gaara's classes… _

Kyu knocked on the door to Kankurou's English class. She had to spend seventh period going through all the classes, since seventh period was the only time when her yearbook hall pass was valid. So, she reasoned with herself, it was around the time when Kankurou would be in this class.

Iruka opened the door, smiling when he saw her. "Hello, Kyu-kun."

"Hi, sensei," she said sweetly. "Um, I was wondering if I could have Kankurou-kun's make-up work? He's home sick."

"Alright, are you taking it to him after school?" Iruka asked, going over to his desk.

Kyu nodded, standing in front of the desk.

"YOU'RE GOING OVER GAARA'S HOUSE?"

She jumped halfway out of her skin, turning to stare at the long-haired boy who had stood up abruptly in his seat. "Um… yes?" Wait, she knew him. He was that awesome soccer player that she interviewed last year. Hyuga something.

"Sit down, Neji," Iruka said, not taking his eyes off the pages in his hand. "Tell Kankurou I said to get well, ok?"

"Ok, sensei," Kyu said with a smile, putting the papers in her book bag and walking down the aisle between the desks.

"Tell Gaara to call me," Neji hissed as she walked by.

Kyu blinked, looking down at him, remembering what Ukon had said the day before. _"No, it's his brother who's gay." _The little hamster wheels in Kyu's brain went a-working. _Ohh…_ She smiled down at Neji. "Sure."

"Thank you!" Neji said, before ducking behind his textbook from the chalk Iruka threw at him.

* * *

(**Around 11:30 am**)

Gaara bit his lip as he braced himself against the wall of Kankurou's room. His legs ached and were unsteady, but he was getting frustrated with himself, and he really had to go to the bathroom. Stepping out into the hall was harder, there was nothing to hold onto except the wall it's self. He nearly fell at least twelve times, even though the bathroom was right next to Kankurou's room. By the time he reached the door, he no longer had the strength to open it. Sobbing with frustration, he slipped down to the floor, calling for his brother.

Kankurou came up from the kitchen instantly, mounting the stairs two at a time. "What are you doing out of bed?" he cried.

"I—I had to go to the bathroom," Gaara said. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok," Kankurou said, opening the bathroom door, then scooping him up. "Call me next time ok?"

"Alright…" Gaara sighed.

When he was finished Kankurou helped him out again, taking him back to the room and bed.

"Kankurou, can I go downstairs?" Gaara asked, hopefully as he was placed on the bed. "I can sit on the kitchen stool and—and keep you company?"

"No, sorry, Gaara," Kankurou said, placing a hand on his brother's head. "You have to stay here and rest up."

"But—" Gaara stopped as Kankurou have him a look. He hung his head as Kankurou sat down on the bed next to him.

"I'm sorry, man," Kankurou said. "But you need to get better fast. I don't want you missing anymore school."

"Kay…" was the mumbled reply.

"How's your back?"

"It hurts," Gaara replied.

"Here, lay on your stomach." Kankurou helped him gently lay down on his stomach and pulled up his shirt. He slipped the bandages off and picked up the ointment that worked well to sooth out bruises. Dabbing it on a particularly nasty looking bruise, he gently worked the medicine onto it. Though he was being gentle, he felt Gaara flinch every once and a while. He sighed, shaking his head, desperately wishing his brother didn't have to go through this.

* * *

(**2:30**)

After school, Kyu followed the directions Ukon gave her to her classmate's house. When she got there, there wasn't another car in the driveway so she pulled her car up to the door and got out. She picked up the two folders with the two boy's makeup work in them and went to the door. She knocked twice then waited.

A few minutes later, Kankurou opened the door, still in his pjs and robe, hair still messy. He hadn't bothered to get dressed or brush his hair since he had no intention of going anywhere. He saw her and gasped, shutting the door again. Kyu blinked a few times, confused, then she knocked again.

Kankurou leaned against the door gasping for breath.

It was Kyu! Why was Kyu at _his_ house? He stared wildly around as if for some means of escape.

"Kankurou, are you gonna answer the door?" Gaara asked, limping to the top of the stairs.

"Why are you out of bed again?" Kankurou demanded, still holding the door closed.

"I had to go to the bathroom again," Gaara said, absentmindedly chewing on his sleeve.

"I just took you to the bathroom a while ago!" Kankurou hissed.

"Sorry," Gaara mumbled. "Are you gonna open it or not?"

"Not!" Kankurou said moving away from the door.

Gaara sighed and sat down the stairs, slowly maneuvering himself down to the bottom. He opened the door and looked out, curiously.

"Um…hi," said the girl standing there.

"…Hi…"

"Um, are you Gaara?" she asked, smiling.

Gaara nodded, shyly, peeking out at her from around the door.

"I have yours and Kankurou's makeup work, Ukon-chan asked me to get it for you," she said holding out the two folders.

"Thanks," Gaara said taking them, pulling himself back in once he had them.

"You're welcome," she said.

There were a few moments of silence.

"Are you ok?" she asked finally. "You're all beat up!"

"I'm ok," Gaara said nervously, starting to close the door.

"No wait!" she stuck her foot in the door preventing it from being closed. "You don't look ok! You're face looks horrible. Have you seen a doctor? Let me look," she pushed the door open and went in.

Gaara and Kankurou, who'd been standing in the dining room, exchanged glances as Kyu led Gaara into the living room and sat him down in a chair. He looked particularly terrified as this strange girl began examining him, gently touching his bruises and running her fingertips along the bandages, but Kankurou couldn't make his mouth work and felt he'd rather die then contradict Kyu's movements. She looked Gaara over complementing the bandages already there.

"These are very well-done," she commented, examining the bandages.

"Kankurou did them," Gaara said quietly as she examined his arm.

Kyu turned to smile at Kankurou, who instantly flushed a light pink. "Wow, really? How'd you get so good?"

"Oh, this happens all the ti—" He caught himself. "All… the time… to a friend of mine! Ha ha ha!" He scratched the back of his head, laughing stupidly. _I'm such a spaz…_ And a look from Gaara told him that he was thinking the same thing.

"You're such a good brother!" Kyu said with a smile, turning back to Gaara. "Now, are you sure you feel ok? To you feel a glitch or anything? Because sometimes you can't tell cause fluid is rushing to the area. Do you feel light-headed? Dizzy? What color am I wearing?"

"Green," Gaara said, his nervousness coming out in his voice, raising an eyebrow at her franticness. He kept darting glances at Kankurou for help, but Kankurou had put on his 'don't-worry-this-is-for-your-own-good' look.

"No! See, something's wrong with you!" she cried at once. "I am wearing…" She looked down at herself. "Oh yeah. I'm wearing green… But anyway," she continued, going back into frantic-mode. "Are you hungry? Thirsty? You want me to make you something?"

"…N-No…" Kankurou had already stuffed him chock-a-block full of crackers, chicken broth and soda. The last thing he needed was another person to feed him.

"Ok, I'll make you something," she said, getting up and going into the kitchen.

Gaara and Kankurou looked at each other.

"Oh, shush," Kankurou said, following her into the kitchen.

* * *

Temari frowned in confusion at the light blue mustang convertible with a fuzzy wheel and fuzzy dice hanging from the rear view mirror in their driveway. _Did one of dad's friends come over or somethi… no, wait, none of them would be caught dead in a car like that. _She opened the door, totally curious now as to who the car belonged to.

"Hi, Gaara," she said, seeing her younger brother in the living room. "How are you feel—wow, did Kankurou make cookies?" She took one off the plate in front of Gaara.

"No," Gaara said, drinking some milk. "Some scary-crazy girl came over and started going on a cookie-frenzy."

"…Girl?" Temari blinked a few times, going over to the kitchen and opening the door.

Sure enough, Kankurou, clad in his bathrobe and pajamas, was standing next to a girl with long, black hair to her waist, wearing a skirt and shirt in different shades of green. Around them, Temari saw the things needed to make cookies, like flour, sugar, milk, butter, etc. Kankurou had a glass of milk in one hand, and a cookie with a large bite taken out of it in the other.

"These are better then Temari's cookies!" Kankurou said before taking a bite of the cookie.

"Oh, I'm sure her cookies are good, too," the girl said, smiling brightly.

Temari's eyebrow sky-rocketed. "Hi, Kankurou," she said loudly, leaning in the doorway.

Kankurou choked on the cookie. Gasping for breath, he turned to face her. "U-Um… Hi, Temari… how was school?"

"Fine," Temari said coolly.

"Um… that's good." There were a few long moments of deadly silence. "OH! Um, this is Kyu. She's in my homeroom class. Um, Kyu, this is my sister Temari."

"Hi!" Kyu said brightly, smiling at Temari. "I'm Ukon-chan's friend! Nice to meet you!"

"Uh-huh, yeah, sure," Temari said, dragging Kankurou into the living room.

"What?" Kankurou cried, trying not to spill his milk.

"What if Dad came home while she was still here?" Temari hissed worriedly. "You would get in trouble!"

"…So?"

"_Gaara_ would get in trouble, too!"

Kankurou glanced at Gaara, who was currently scrunching down into the chair trying to make him self invisible. "I didn't ask her to come," he said in his own defense. "She just appeared outside the door."

Temari gave him a look.

"She did! Ask Gaara."

"Not here."

Temari and Kankurou gave him weird look then Temari gave Kankurou a stern look.

"Ok, ok, I'll tell her to go," he muttered, going back in the kitchen. "Um, Kyu?"

He was instantly met by a cookie stuffed in his face. "Sugar cookies are good!" she chirped, smiling brightly.

He swallowed the cookie, taking a drink of milk to clear his mouth, and started to say something, but was cut off again.

"I have to go, ok?" she said with a smile, taking Temari's apron off. "I promised Ukon I would buy him a present on the way home, and I have to wrap it."

"Um… ok…" Kankurou blinked. "Uh… thanks for coming over, and getting our homework and stuff."

"You're welcome!" she said with a big grin, throwing her arms around him and giving him a big hug. "I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"Uh… um… uh…" Kankurou's entire face turned royal red. "S-Sure…"

"Ok, good!" she said, letting go and going into the living room. "Gaara-chan, Neji-kun said to call him, ok?" she said, patting Gaara on the head. "Get better, alright? Bye, Temari!"

And then she was gone.

And it was quiet.

Temari turned to look at Kankurou, whose face was still red. She developed a sly grin.

Kankurou snapped back into reality. "Shut up," he snapped, storming into the kitchen to clean up.

Temari looked down at Gaara with a knowing smile. "So that was Kyu," she said.

Gaara shrugged and tried to stand. His legs were shaky and weak and he nearly cried out in pain, but managed to hold back all but a tiny whimper. Temari moved to catch him as if he was going to fall but stopped as Gaara caught himself, panting from pain and effort. Kankurou came back into the living room and asked what was wrong. Blushing darkly at his own weakness, Gaara said he wanted to go upstairs and call Neji. Kankurou smiled and got the phone. He picked his brother up as if he was picking up a baby and set the plate of cookies on Gaara's stomach and carried him up the stairs to his room. He set him down on his bed then went back down to clean the kitchen. Gaara dialed Neji's cell phone number then waited, munching on another cookie.

"OH, MY GOD GAARA! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

Gaara pulled the phone away from his ear. He swallowed the cookie before saying anything. "I'm alright."

"Why weren't you in school? Did something bad happen?"

"No, nothing bad. Don't worry about it," Gaara said. He didn't want Neji to worry about it. "You made the team, though, it was on the paper's Genma gave me."

"Who cares? I'm worried about you!"

Gaara took the phone away from his ear and stared at it then put it back to his ear. "Neji you just said you didn't care about soccer."

"Why aren't you telling me what happened?"

"Because I'm ok!" Gaara insisted, ignoring the fact that his whole body was throbbing in pain from the moving around he did earlier.

"Why are you lying?"

"I—I'm n—not!" Gaara said.

"You're stuttering Gaara!"

Gaara blushed then frowned. "Why do you always want to know everything about my business? You're so nosy! Like all the teachers at school!"

"I'm just worried about you!"

"Don't be! Maybe I don't want you to be!"

"Maybe I won't be! God, I don't even want to talk to you anymore."

"Like I would want to talk to someone that only thinks and talks about soccer."

"I do not think and talk about only soccer! I haven't mentioned soccer at all, you did!"

"That's because I don't know anything else to talk to you about cause that's all you talk about!"

"You know what? Forget it."

"Fine!" Gaara said hanging up. He tossed the phone to the other side of the bed and laid back, fuming. He looked towards his door, where Temari and Kankurou were peeking in, startled. "Go away!" he yelled, rolling over so his back was to them.

"Alright," Kankurou said, closing his door.

* * *


	11. Mistake

**Vindicated**

Chapter 11: Mistakes

**Dragon man 180:** I find it humorous for some reason that you like the Kyu character. Most people don't cause she's SNG's oc. Oh well. I glad u like her.

**Junsui Kegasu:** Catching up yes. But I have a reason. I don't have to come up with a new chapter every time I'm finished with one. Unfortunately I think I am going to catch up soon….I feel bad.

**Chronic-fever:** I just give them a glare or two. You'd be surprised what a bit of panda makeup can do to people. O ack! I just realized that the picture of me on deviant is me without a hat or bandanna on! (stares) (Shukaku: Dude…you should feel honored…her family barely sees her without a hat on…and you got to see her, first impression, with out it!) (h-r flutters away….) (Shukaku: doesn't sng look funny? She hates getting her pic taken)

**ShaJen:** It actually is kinda that hard. Sometime you suspect and you're completely wrong and you feel bad cause you suspected. But some people who are hide it so well that no one _ever_ finds out. and with some people you just think that they're overreacting to a punishment of are angry with their parents. Funniness thing?...I got it all from my sister. Me and her spend hours just coming up with random stuff that leaves us dying from laughter on the floor. I'm a pretty shy, quiet person alone, but together we're like…unstoppable. (glomps sng)

* * *

Despite the protests from his siblings, Gaara insisted on going to school the next day. The swelling and bruises on his face had gone down much faster then normal thanks to Kyu's extra treatment. The two brothers hadn't let her see his back, though, so his arms, shoulders and back still ached and screamed in pain every once and a while, and his siblings knew it. He insisted on going to school though, and trudged there deliberately while they trailed behind him, looking worried.

Ukon was waiting for Kankurou with his twin brother, wanting to know every detail that happened when Kyu came over.

"So….how did it go?" Ukon asked nonchalantly.

"How did what go?" Kankurou asked, narrowing his eyes.

Ukon didn't answer, just gave him pointed looks and grin. Kankurou glanced at Gaara who shrugged.

"Yesterday," Sakkon explained, boredly. "With Kyu. Ukon is proud of himself because he convinced her to go over to your house."

Kankurou blinked.

Dot.

Dot.

Dot.

Crack.

"_YOU_ SENT KYU OVER TO MY HOUSE WITH OUT ANY WARNING WHATSOEVER?"

"Uh—"

"Do you realize how embarrassing it is, to have the girl you like show up at your house while you still in your _pajamas_ and _robe_?" Kankurou hissed.

Sakkon spit and choked on his coffee.

"I thought it would be cute," Ukon said. "And I thought you would give me a discount cause that was nice of me."

"A discount?" Gaara asked, looking up at his brother.

Kankurou laughed. "He buys candy from me sometimes," he said. "Go inside, find Neji or something."

He gave his brother a push towards the school door. Gaara went where he was pushed looking back at the three older boys who waved. Gaara rolled his eyes and went inside.

When he was gone, Kankurou smacked Ukon across the head. "You idiot!" he said.

"What? Kyu thought you guys were—"

"Not Kyu! Don't mention that stuff to Gaara!" he hissed. "He doesn't know, neither does Temari," he added, glancing over where Temari was talking to her friends. "I don't want them to know, alright?"

"Ok, sorry," Ukon said, scratching the back of his head. They walked into the school together. "You know…I got a phone call last night," Ukon said, stopping at the soda machines. "From Kyu."

Kankurou stopped.

"What did she say?" Kankurou asked.

Ukon took his soda out of the thing and started walking away.

"Ukon! What'd she say?"

* * *

Gaara went straight to his 1st period class, though school didn't start for another twenty minutes.

"Good morning, Gaara," Genma greeted pleasantly as he walked in. "Missed you yesterday. You got the stuff all typed out for me?"

Gaara pulled a disk out of his pocket and handed it to him. "I didn't know how many copies you wanted," Gaara explained.

"That's fine," Genma said, slipping the disk into his computer. He opened the file and examined it. "Excellent. Good work, thanks."

"You're welcome," Gaara replied, surprised at the complement. "Oh, I have the makeup work from yesterday." He pulled out the papers Kyu brought out of his side bag and handed it to him. "I'll get a note tomorrow."

Genma nodded. "That's fine."

Gaara turned back to go sit down and happened to glance outside as Neji glanced at him and kept walking. Gaara quickly sat down at his desk, memories of the argument on the phone flooding back to him. He remembered saying something nasty, but couldn't remember what. All he remembered was being very mad at Neji and Neji getting mad back.

(**1st period-Grammar 12-Kankurou**)

"Ukon! What did she say?" Kankurou demanded as Ukon led him into his class.

"What did who say?"

Kankurou stopped as Ukon turned around.

"Kyu-chan!"

"Ukon-chan!"

GLOMP!

"What did who say?" Kyu asked again smiling brightly.

"Kankurou wanted to know what—"

"What his friend said about…getting a driver's license around here...heh," Kankurou said quickly.

"You don't have your license yet?" they asked.

Kankurou shrugged. "Never needed it," he said.

"Have you taken driver's ed?" Kyu asked.

"Yeah, a while ago, I just never went for my actual license."

"Well, there's an administration about ten minutes from here next to the driving school," Kyu said thoughtfully. "I could drive you there on like Sunday or something…actually, Sunday would be best cause I'm busy on Saturday."

"That's so nice of you, Kyu-chan!" Ukon said jumping in between them. "You know what? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you _liked_ Kankurou."

Kankurou and Kyu blushed and quickly returned to their seats as Kurenai bodily threw Ukon out of the room and shut the door behind him. Both planned to not look at each other for the rest of class, but Kurenai didn't know this and made them partners for the next project, forcing them to speak. In short sentences. Very short sentences. With no eye contact.

(**2nd period-art- Gaara Neji**)

Art class was hell for Gaara. Neji refused to look at him or say a word to him, keeping a sour face throughout the whole class period. After the bell rang and the students filed out, Gaara ran to catch up with Neji.

"Neji, I'm sorry about last night," Gaara stammered out, worried about his reaction.

"Sure you are," Neji said.

"I am! I'm really sorry," Gaara insisted, crestfallen at the cold shoulder. "Please forgive me?"

Neji paused for a moment. "No. I'm tired of you lying to me and keeping secrets from me about something that I really wanted to help with. Besides, you're right. Why would _you_ want to talk to, let alone go out with, someone who likes soccer so much? And why would _I_ want to talk to, or go out with, some freak insomniac, who's too scared of his own damn shadow to do anything right?"

With that Neji turned and continued down the hall, leaving Gaara alone in the hall. Gaara stared after him, in complete shock, shaking and biting his lip to stop it from trembling, not even hearing the snickers from students as they walked past him, but he did notice they stopped instantly as someone came up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"And people say I'm an ass," Itachi said sneering after the Hyuga. He steered Gaara down the hall to the redhead's next class.

"I—I don't want to talk to you," Gaara said, trying to shake him off.

"Aw…why you gotta be like that?" Itachi cooed, his arm going around Gaara's shoulders.

"P—please, stop it," Gaara said, trying to edge out of Itachi's grasp.

"I could get Neji to like you again if you want," Itachi said, catching his attention.

"Why would you do that?"

"Cause," he said shortly. "Look, the best way to get him back is to make him jealous," Itachi told him. "People think this only works on girls, but it actually works on everyone."

"But…that would hurt Neji and make him…more mad at me…"

"Only a little. But it will give him a push I promise. He hurt you didn't he?"

"But…"

"I swear it will work. Just make him a little jealous."

"How?"

"Go out with someone else."

"What?"

"Yeah, and make sure he finds out about it. That'll make him real jealous."

"I don't like anyone else," Gaara said.

"You don't have to like them to go out with them."

"But I don't know anyone who'd do that," Gaara said, dismissing the idea as he turned into his class.

"Why are you trying to dodge this?" Itachi asked, pulling him back. "Don't you like Neji?"

"Yes!"

"Then why aren't you trying to get him back?"

Gaara looked down at the floor distressed. Neji being mad at him was one of the things he was completely terrified of. He didn't think anything could make Neji not be mad at him now. He turned and started back for his class.

"I'll do it," Itachi offered suddenly, taking his shoulder to bring him back. "But, you know, just for a little while, alright?"

"…..I'll think about it."

"Alright."

* * *

Gaara did think about it. All day. And the more he thought about it the more he thought it might work. He really knew nothing about relationships. Itachi seemed to though…but there was always a little nagging voice in the back of his head asking him why Itachi? Why not Haku who wasn't creepy…or well not _that _creepy?

As he walked to his 7th period class, he met Itachi again. The older boy stopped him and leaned against the lockers, smiling down the foot distance to Gaara's face and asked him if he thought about it.

As if on cue, Neji walked around the corner and saw them. He stopped short, eyes wide. Gaara stared at him wide-eyed as well, like a child caught doing something wrong. But then he gritted his teeth and turned back to Itachi.

"Sure, I'll go out with you," he said, smiling.

"Great," Itachi said, smiling down at him. "How's Saturday? I'll pick you up at your house."

"Ok."

"Perfect," Itachi leaned down and kissed Gaara's forehead, running his fingers through his red hair. "See ya later."

He turned and walked down the hall. Before turning into his class, Gaara glanced towards Neji. The white eyed boy had a hurt look on his face. There wasn't anger, just hurt and sadness; like he had just watched his world collapse at his feet. Gaara hurried into his class before he could see that look any more. It hurt him to see Neji's face like that. But then he remembered what Neji had said to him earlier and glared at nothing, pushing Neji's expression from his thoughts. He made him hurt, so why couldn't he make Neji hurt a little?

(**7th period-English- Kankurou and Neji**)

"Neji what's wrong?" Kankurou asked as Neji sat down next to him with the deadest, most unbelieving look on his face.

"Gaara….he…" Neji couldn't finish his sentence.

"Yeah, you two had a nasty argument last night," Kankurou said, as the bell rang. "Gaara was pissed."

Neji didn't say anything else the rest of the period, even when Iruka called on him to answer a question. He just continued to stare at nothing throughout the whole period.

Why did Gaara do that? And why Itachi? Neji was sure Itachi was the one who made him do it, but Gaara had seemed willing. He hadn't meant what he said earlier. He was just hurt because Gaara didn't trust him enough to tell him what was happening. He let Itachi kiss his forehead! No blushing, nothing! What was up with that? That hurt a lot; and Gaara had called him a soccer obsessed freak.

**Flashback**

'_Why would I want to talk to, or go out with, some freak insomniac, who's too scarred of his own shadow to do anything right?'_

**End Flashback**

'_Oh, my god, I'm disgusting! That was so mean!'_ He could admit that he was a soccer obsessed freak, but that was too personal. He must have really hurt Gaara's feelings. He put his face in his hands. How could he have done that to him? Didn't Gaara already have enough problems?

After the bell rang he got up slowly and followed Hinata out to the black suv and got in.

The three siblings, well Temari and Kankurou, watched them drive off, then looked over at Gaara who had already started to walk home.

"Gaara? What happened?" Temari asked, confused.

"Neji and I broke up."

"You broke up with him?" Kankurou asked.

"No, he broke up with me."

Temari and Kankurou shared a look of confusion. "Then why is Neji the one who looks like no one loves him?" Kankurou asked, pointing.

"Because no one does."

Temari and Kankurou bother raised an eye brow and stared after their brother.

* * *

The next day in Art class, Neji came in and saw Gaara already sitting at his desk, copying the drill. He swallowed hard and went over to his desk and got his stuff out and sat down. Gaara was completely ignoring him, not even acknowledging that he was sitting there. After a while's silence, Neji started to say something, but Gaara put his headphones on and played his cd. Neji looked down at his painting, distressed; he had been ignoring Gaara yesterday. He could tell when Gaara apologized that he'd truly been sorry. He knew how Gaara felt now. Why did he say that? He hadn't meant it.

"Good job, Gaara, that's looking very good," Shizume-sensei said as she came around to look at their work.

Neji glanced over at Gaara's canvas. The rest of the class was starting on acrylics themselves and their assignment was to paint an emotional landscape. Gaara painting was red based. In the center was a child kneeling in front of several dead people. The houses and tree behind her were on fire and there was a shadowy figure coming out of the child. It was very roughly painted, since Gaara didn't have a lot of experiment using paints, but it looked good.

Neji stared. _'What a morbid painting…'_ he thought to himself, he knew right off what emotion it was though, which was the assignment. Angst. Or depression and anger. (an h-r original)

The teacher gave Gaara some tips to add more effect to the fire and showed him how to apply the paint to show texture. Neji looked away and stared down at his desk. Normally, Gaara would have come to him asking for help…instead of the teacher. Gaara was scared of adults. Neji tried not to let the hurt show on his face.

'_He'd rather talk to an adult…then me…?'_

As the bell rang, this time Neji hurried to catch up with Gaara. He tried talking to him, but Gaara kept walking and continued to ignore him. Finally, Neji had enough.

"Come on, stop it!" Neji said moving in front of him. "Look I'm sorry I yelled at you yesterday, I am. But you don't have to ignore me like this."

Gaara glared at him, then moved around him and continued walking. Neji tried again, moving in front of him and grabbing his shoulders. Gaara winced slightly, but Neji didn't see it.

"Look, don't go out with Itachi," Neji said. "He's bad news!"

"Don't tell me what to do. You're not my boss," Gaara said, moving backwards out of Neji's reach.

"I know I'm not!" Neji persisted, blocking his way. "But Itachi isn't a nice guy, he'll hurt you!"

"So it's ok for you to?"

Neji stopped short and stared at the sudden accusation. _'No it wasn't ok for me to hurt you!'_ Neji's mind screamed. _'But Itachi'll hurt you worse! Why wont you listen?' _The words were stuck in his throat and he couldn't make them come out. He couldn't make Gaara understand.

"If you don't want anything to do with a 'freak insomniac' like me, then just leave me alone," Gaara said finally. He pushed passed Neji and started down the hall.

"Gaara!" Neji called desperately after him. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean that yesterday!"

Gaara didn't make any move that he heard him, just continued to walk away from him.

* * *

Neji tried apologizing to Gaara everyday, but Gaara would squeeze his eyes shut and hurry down the hall away from him. On Friday Neji followed him to his third period class, stopping him before he went in.

"Please, Gaara!" he cried. "Listen to me!"

"No! Let me go!" Gaara said, trying to pull out of his grasp.

"Listen to me first!" Neji said, gripping his shoulder tighter.

"Now, Hyuga, don't go loosing your temper on little Gaara," came a smooth voice behind Neji.

Neji turned and glared at Itachi. "Oh, _you_ can shut up and get lost," Neji snapped. "This is your fault anyway!"

"Is it really?" Itachi said, eye brow raised.

"Look, I know what you're trying to do and I wont let you!" Neji said, angrily.

Itachi grabbed Neji's wrists and yanked him away from Gaara. Gaara had never seen Neji look so mad before. His angry face, his tone of voice, his body languages…they were all like his father's. His eyes widened in fear, but Neji's anger wasn't directed at him Neji stood in front of Itachi looking ready to snap and kill both of them.

"What the hell are you doing?" Neji yelled.

"You were hurting him," Itachi said simply.

Neji started at this and looked passed him at Gaara. He looked very ashamed of himself and his anger faded.

"I—I'm sorry, Gaara," he said, but Itachi cut him off.

"Get to class Hyuga," Itachi said, blocking Gaara from Neji's view.

Giving Itachi one more glare, Neji turned and trudged down the hall. Gaara stared after him, slightly mortified.

"Neji's mad at me," he said, worry staining his voice.

"No, he's not mad," Itachi said, smiling down at him. "That's jealousy. See? It's working."

Gaara looked up at him, not thoroughly convinced, then back at Neji's departing back.

(**Saturday night**)

"Please?"

"No," Kankurou said in a bored voice, turning the page in the magazine he was reading.

"Why not?"

"Because I can't go with you."

"I'm fourteen, Kankurou, I can go to the mall by myself!"

"No. You. Can't."

"Why?"

"Because."

"That's not fair! I want to go to the mall. I don't want to stay in the house all night," Gaara crossed his arms and stood defiantly in his door.

"To bad," Kankurou said, turning another page. "We'll go tomorrow, I promise."

"But I wanna go now! I can walk to the mall by myself; it only takes like 10 minutes to walk there. Neji and I've done it together."

"You are not walking to the mall, alone, on a Saturday night," Kankurou said, looking up at him.

Gaara glared and stomped into his room, throwing a small temper tantrum and slammed the door shut.

"Don't slam the door," he called.

And of course because he said this, Gaara opened the door and slammed it 3 times harder then he did the first time. Kankurou rolled his eyes and went back to his magazine. Why the hell did he want to go to the mall so badly anyway?

* * *

Gaara watched out his window until he saw Itachi's black truck pull up at the end of the drive way. He grabbed his coat and slipped quietly down stairs. Kankurou had his head phones on and his back to the door so he didn't notice anything.

As Gaara walked up to the truck, his stomach began churning and that little voice was nagging at him. Why the hell was he doing this? He didn't know. He wanted to make Neji jealous. Why Itachi? Spur of the moment? He didn't know. The look on Neji's face was still playing in his mind. Maybe he really didn't want to do this. But he felt he couldn't back out now.

Itachi unlocked the door and Gaara got into the passenger's side. Itachi smiled at him and patted the middle seat. "Sit here."

"I'm ok."

"Sit here."

Gaara swallowed hard at the stern voice and scooted over.

"That's better," Itachi said. He pulled back onto the road and started driving, putting his arm around Gaara.

Gaara thought the ride to the mall would never end. Itachi's arm was snaking up and down his side and stomach, nearly going past his waist line. He did once causing Gaara to flinch so bad Itachi grabbed him to keep him from going anywhere. When they got there, he hurriedly got out and waited for Itachi, fidgeting. This was already starting to be a bad idea, but he didn't have time to think because Itachi came up and led him into the mall.

They walked around, going into a few stores. Itachi insisted on them walking with his arm around Gaara's waist, his hand underneath Gaara's shirt. Itachi took him into nearly all the stores Neji never took him in. Gaara now saw why. All of them had _something_ perverted about them. Itachi seemed to think it was hilarious that Gaara couldn't stop blushing each time he showed him something different. Gaara told Itachi he wanted to leave.

"Why's that?" Itachi asked, his face in Gaara's neck, hand snaking up higher under his shirt.

"I—I'm hungry," Gaara stammered, trying to pull away.

"Alright," Itachi steered him out of the store and into the food court.

He paid for their meals and took Gaara over to a table. He stopped Gaara as he tried to sit down. He wanted Gaara sit on his lap as they ate. Gaara mumbled that he didn't want to sit on his lap, but Itachi glared at him and told him that he didn't have a choice and forced him to sit.

Blushing, Gaara tried to ignore the stares people were giving them. Itachi ate a little of his food, but spent the rest of the time Gaara ate busy kissing and nibbling at his neck and ear. His hands moved slowly from Gaara's sides to his stomach to his legs. Gaara never felt so uncomfortable in his entire life, he could barely eat. When he paused eating, Itachi placed a hand on his chin and tilted his head around, placing a deep kiss on Gaara's lips. Gaara whimpered and tried to pull away, but Itachi held him, digging deeper. Gaara was gasping for breath when Itachi finally pulled away, contenting himself with chewing on Gaara's earlobe. Finishing as fast as he could, Gaara mumbled that he had to go to the bathroom and ran into the restroom.

He shut the stall door and heaved a sigh of relief. He was _really_ regretting this now. Itachi wouldn't stop _touching_ him and kissing his neck and he really didn't like that. And he kissed him! Gaara spit into the toilet, wiping his mouth, then spat again. He couldn't believe Itachi actually kissed him. He hadn't expected it at all and he wasn't sure if he liked it.

He never wanted a cell phone before, never needing to call someone, but he really wanted one now. He wanted to call Neji and say how sorry he was and ask him to come 'save' him from Itachi. He'd even call Kankurou, even though he knew Kankurou would be mad.

He leaned against the wall and wrapped his arms around himself, making himself as small as he could. Each time Itachi touched him he felt dirtier. It was horrible. He didn't want to go out there again. He wondered how long he could stay there in peace before Itachi came looking for him.

"Thought you said you had to go."

Startled, Gaara looked up and saw Itachi climbing over the stall and into his.

"I—I don't want to do this anymore. I want to go home," Gaara said, moving away from him.

"Already? But you haven't thanked me for taking you out yet," Itachi said, coming very close to him. "I was doing you a favor, wasn't I? You wanted to make Hyuga jealous, didn't you?"

"N—not any…more," Gaara said moving away. "I'm sorry, I want to go home. Please take me home."

"No," Itachi said, making sure the stall was locked.

"What?"

"You shouldn't back out of something once you start. You wanted to make Hyuga jealous…Let's make him really jealous."

Gaara tried to move away from him, but Itachi grabbed him and pinned him to the wall, rubbing his waist into Gaara's. Itachi moved his hands up and down Gaara's sides under his shirt, bringing it higher and higher, revealing his stomach and chest. Gaara whimpered and tried to move away as Itachi's fingers ran along his chest. He felt Itachi smiled as he buried his face in Gaara's neck, licking and biting at the base with the force of a vampire.

* * *

Grr...damn u Itachi...


	12. Enlaced Fingers

**Vindicated**

**Junsui Kegasu: **I just read scapegoat's fic too (heart) I like it! I read a fan fic the other day and it completely ruined my I Hate Itachi shpeal… grrr….oh well…still hate him. But he does help to add the twists in the story no da?

**Dragon man 180: **Dude…man…ur cool I like you. When you said that thing in ur review about the sniper rifle I had the best mental image and I want to draw it but I has no idea what u look like. Could u give me a teeny description so I can draw u chibified and chasing Itachi down with a gun?

**Ebony: **hee! I love Ukon too! It's funny…in the anime he's completely different and Sakkon's the annoying one and Ukon's the serious one. How ironic is that? I hate fights like that too, drives me nuts, but usually I completely forgot about the fight after like…4 hours and can never understand why the other person's mad at me and that makes stuff worse. You know…right before I read ur review I was reading this chapter and was like…wait…Itachi should notice somethings should he? Then u reviewed and I was like…oops…

**Lee-san & hibiyuru: **KISAME! (glomps Kisame) I wuv shark man! (tears) why you gotta be so bad and with Itachi damnit!

**Severed Glass: **Damn it…(thinks really hard) ok I have a problem…I have split personalities…and the one who first read ur review put ur name down in the chapter cause she wanted to tell u something but didn't tell anyone else…I'm sorry… I have a vague memory of reading Split and liking it, but for the life of me I can't remember what I was supposed to tell you. I'm sorry

**Chronic-fever: **yes I love hats very very much. I have a whole drawer full of hats of all different shapes sizes and colors…well not colors they're all black, but whateva. I even have a fanfic hat. I'm wearing it now. It's one with cat ears and eyes that glare at everyone around me. I don't know why but I always can write when I'm wearing it…

**Isis-Amataeru: **I so glad you like it (heart) hopefully I'm gonna have art for this one up on deviant soon. Kankurou and Gaara brotherly love is my favorite! I love it! I like NejiGaa too…I thought of it by accident like…a long time ago when I was thinking of pairings I wanted in my fic Suna's Kekkei Genkai and I was like…I can't think of anyone who deserves Gaara…the only one that's always paired with Neji is Tenten and I don't like her…hey why don't I put Gaara and Neji together. And I became obsessed. I love Ukon and Haku! I've drawn out Haku's new character for the manga that should be up soon. I thought of other pairings but I really suck at writing things for people that I have no interest in. my sis usually writes the other pairings like Kankurou and Kyu hee! I so glad you like it!

Thanks to all others who reviewed! I heart u all!

Chapter 12: Enlaced Fingers

* * *

Gaara was frozen. His body wouldn't move. Only one thought ran through his head, but his body wouldn't act on it.

'_Stop touching me like that.'_

Itachi moaned into his neck, closing any space between them. He lifted Gaara up off the ground and brought him so that they were near eye level and pinned him once again to the wall, his feet dangling in the air.

"Please…stop…please…s—stop…"

He whimpered when felt Itachi grin against him as his hands groped his chest and his mouth moved slowly from his neck up to his face, until he met Gaara's lips, forcing his mouth open and digging in with his tongue.

He couldn't breath, Itachi wasn't giving him any air. Gaara finally got his body to work and started protesting and pushing the bigger boy away. Itachi gripped his wrists roughly and pinned both his arms above his head, laughing at his weak attempts to stop him. With his other hand, he reached between them and began unbuttoning Gaara's pants, tugging them down. The rubbing became harder and harder. Hot tears blurred Gaara's vision, threatening to fall.

'_No!…Neji…Kankurou…'_

* * *

Haku sighed as he separated himself from the pack of girls he was hanging out with. Usually he avoided using public bathrooms. It made him feel very perverted, but he really had to go. He hurried to finish and get out, but as he was washing his hands and fixing his ponytail his l33t gay ears picked up the sound of a cute boy in distress. Then they picked up his least favorite sound in the whole world. He shuttered and started for the door. Uchiha Itachi was the last person he wanted to meet in the mall's bathroom.

"S—stop touching me l—like that! Please!"

Pray! Was that the voice of his lovely redheaded rose of love? Haku turned back to the bathroom stalls all hearts and shonen ai, not registering the words he'd heard. He narrowed his eyes and scanned each of the bathroom stalls with his l33t x-ray vision. (Shukaku: ……what?)

Stall #1: Cleaning man with big butt crack. Ew.

Stall#2: Going to the bathroom.

Stall#3: same.

Stall#4: empty.

Stall #5: man masturbat—WHOA—NO!

Stall #6: Yay! Gaara!...with ITACHI!

Haku's eyes flared. What was that bastard doing in a bathroom stall with Gaara?

Forgetting all previous fear of the older Uchiha, Haku went up to the bathroom stall and kicked it as hard as he could, breaking the lock and causing it to burst open. The two inside jumped and whirled around.

As he took in the sight, he became angrier. Itachi had his Gaara pinned against the wall with his hands over his head. Gaara's wrists were red from how tight the grip was. His pants were undone and Itachi's hand was inching down into them.

"Haku!"

"What the fuck do you think you're—"

"Get _the fuck_ away from Gaara," Haku said in a low deadly voice.

Itachi grinned, letting his free hand wander down lower as he leaned down and licked Gaara's face. Gaara whimpered, terrified and continued to try and get away, but Itachi held him tight, groping strongly. "What's wrong, Haku-kun? Are you jealous?" he purred. "He's a lot cuter then you were."

"I said get away from him!"

"And _you're_ going to make me? Please," he said, scoffing at Haku. "You couldn't make me get away from _you_ before, what makes you think it'll work now for him?"

Haku stormed over and punched Itachi's face. Glaring angrily, Itachi spat then unpinned Gaara from the wall and shoved him roughly to the floor.

"Who the fuck do you think you are? Fag!" he moved to punch Haku, but the boy dodged it and punched him again. Before Itachi had time to recover, Haku grabbed him and threw him into the sinks across the bathroom. Again before he could recover, Haku grabbed him and dragged him outside where the girls were waiting.

"Haku-chan, what—"

"Keep your disgusting, perverted hands off of Gaara!" Haku glowered.

Itachi stood up, ready to kill Haku, but noticed some very evil glares behind him and turned, eyes wide and staring.

Haku turned and hurried back into the bathroom. Gaara was still on the floor in the corner where he fell, shaking hard, eyes wide. Haku knelt down in front of him and quietly said his name. Gaara looked up and threw himself onto Haku, trembling, wanting his comfort. Haku smiled sadly and hugged him back, rubbing his head and back to calm him down. He whispered softly in his ear until Gaara did. Haku fixed Gaara's pants then lifted him up off the floor and carried him out. He didn't laugh or smile as Gaara buried his face in Haku's jacket, quietly sniffing and shaking from fright.

* * *

"…..and now I'm grounded till I'm 80 cause I wasn't suppose to leave the house in the first place," Gaara said into the phone. He sniffed and swallowed. "Mm—but Kankurou said I could call you and tell you what happened. Will you forgive me? Please?"

Neji stared blankly at his wall, then bit his lip and took deep breath. He could hear the panic in Gaara's voice. He didn't think Neji was going to forgive him. But the thought hadn't quite reached Neji's conscious yet. He was still stuck on the first thing.

"Let me get this straight. You were upset and wanted to make me jealous, so you agreed to go out with …(shudder)… Itachi."

"Mm-hm."

"He was being very touchie-feelie and it embarrassed you and you didn't like it."

"No. I—I mean no I didn't…like it."

"And you asked him to stop, but he wouldn't."

"No."

"Then….he _kissed_ you…"

"Yeah," Gaara reply, making a disgusted face at the memory.

Neji bit his lip very hard as he pounded his fist a few times on the floor.

"….then you went into the bathroom to have some time away from him…"

"Mm-hm."

"But Itachi came in and tried to …..'do stuff'."

"Nn-hn."

"………But you didn't _want_ to …'do stuff'?"

"No!"

"Alright…" Neji paused taking a deep breath again. "So, then Haku came in and broke the door down with his 'mad l33t gay skillz'…and dragged Itachi out of the bathroom."

"Yeah!"

"Then Sakura and the other girls found out and…. 'made it so he couldn't have children' and then Haku drove you home in his car."

"Yes."

"…And Kankurou grounded you cause you didn't listen."

"Yeah…"

"…..What exactly was Itachi doing?"

"……..…"

"Oh. Hold on a second," Neji said sweetly, then put the phone on mute and set it down. He took a calm deep breath.

"OH MY FUCKING GOD! I'M GOING TO KILL THAT ASSHOLE!"

Everyone in the Hyuga community stopped what they were doing and looked around, then towards the main house as several other cursing phrases and promises of death and destruction sounded and several of Neji's poor random pillows got trashed.

* * *

Gaara laid back on Kankurou's bed after hanging up the phone. Neji didn't seem mad at him, just relieved that nothing happened. Itachi should be fearing for his life, though, Neji would kill him at practice on Monday. A small smile tugged at his mouth. Neji wasn't mad. He wasn't mad. He didn't hate him. He still cared about him. He wasn't angry at him.

**Flashback**

"_What the hell?" Kankurou shouted at him._

_Gaara cringed and hung his head in shame as Kankurou stared at him._

"_What the hell were you thinking? I told you to stay here! Why didn't you listen to me Gaara?"_

"_I—I'm sorry…I just—"_

"_No! There is no excuse for you! I can't believe you'd do something so stupid!"_

**End Flashback**

Kankurou was mad at him.

Kankurou told him not to go. He told him he couldn't go to the mall by himself. He said it was dangerous. He told him not to and he didn't listen. He disobeyed and now Kankurou had yelled at him.

Kankurou was mad at him.

He rolled over onto his stomach and buried his face into the pillow. He could still feel Itachi on him. It disgusted him and made feel sick. There was a small bruise on his neck, surrounded by other red marks from where Itachi had been biting at him. His wrist hurt to from where Itachi hand grabbed him to keep him from protesting. His mouth felt disgusting too. He was about to go to the bathroom and brush his teeth for the fifth time since he got home, but the door opened and he stayed put.

"Gaara?"

Gaara didn't move as Temari and Kankurou came in and sat on the bed on either side of him. Temari laid down next to him and curled up to him. She ran her fingers through his hair, rubbing the back of his neck gently, in a calming motion.

"Sorry I yelled at you, Gaara," Kankurou said. "You're not grounded."

"I want to be grounded," Gaara mumbled into the pillow. "I should have listened to you…and Neji."

"You know, everyone makes mistakes, Gaara," Temari said, wrapping her arms around him. "But you can learn from them…"

"Yeah, and _never_ do them again!" Kankurou said cheerfully.

"Kankurou!" Temari hissed. They had a moment of silence then, Temari patted his back. "I'll go make us something to eat ok?"

"I'm not hungry."

"No. No," she said. "You're gonna eat." She got up and walked out of the room, leaving the two boys alone.

Kankurou looked down at his hands, not quite sure what to say. They should have books on this or something. They probably did, he just never thought he'd have to read them. He looked over at Gaara who still had his face buried in his pillows. His fists were clenched so hard they were shaking. He wondered what his brother could be thinking right now. He wondered what he could say. But realized there was nothing to say. But he tried anyway, letting his thoughts roll out.

"You know, I really don't know what to tell you," he started. "But I'm gonna say I'm sorry. I knew Itachi was bothering you. And I could'a stopped him, but I didn't."

"I was sneaking behind you're back, it wasn't your fault," Gaara mumbled.

"Nah, I'm your brother. It's my job to make sure you're ok," Kankurou said, biting his lip. "Look, to be honest…I am very…_very_ mad at you…" Gaara sniffed again and looked back at him from behind his red bangs. Kankurou sounded like he was repressing built up rage. "…but I'm more relieved then mad, please listen to me when I tell you to do something next time ok? Promise?"

"I promise."

"Good. I guess…it's kinda funny, I'm gonna be some weird dad someday. Spoiled rotten and everything, that's you. But you're really important to me…I mean you're my only brother. I love you and Temari."

Gaara smiled into his arms then sat up and moved over to sit next to him. "You and Temari are important to me too," he mumbled.

Kankurou grinned at him sideways and put his arm around him.

* * *

The three of them sat in Kankurou's room and ate the sandwiches Temari brought up. They were listening to the cds Tayuya had gotten Gaara for his birthday when the phone rang again. Gaara paused the cd player as Kankurou picked up the phone.

"Hello?" he said into it. "Why? What do you want?...Oh really? Aren't you going to ask me first? I might say no……I'm serious…. Shut up I'm kidding, here he is." Kankurou handed the phone over to Gaara. "Neji."

"Hi Neji," Gaara said, taking another bite of his sandwich.

"I'm sorry, I was kinda shook up before. Are you alright?"

"I'm ok now," Gaara said.

"Look…I know you probably don't want to, but I wanna see you tonight…and talk, do you want to….to… go to the movies?"

Gaara blinked. "Like… a date?"

Temari's head snapped up and Kankurou stuffed another sandwich in her mouth before she could say anything. She glared at him and he smiled sweetly.

"Tonight?" Gaara asked.

"If you want," Neji replied. "I mean I'd understand if you didn't."

"No, I do. I wanna see you too. Hang on," Gaara looked over at Kankurou. Kankurou shrugged, smiling and ate another sandwich. "Sure, when?"

"Hiashi-ojisan said he'd drive us there right now," Neji said. "I'll be there in about ten-fifteen minutes."

"Ok," Gaara said. "Bye." He hung up the phone and got up. He grabbed another set of clothes from the pile of his and Kankurou's clean clothes and ran out of the room into the bathroom. Eight minutes later he came back out in new clothes and damp hair.

"…You took a shower?" Temari asked.

"Duh," he said.

"…That fast?..."

Ignoring her, he dropped his dirty clothes in a pile in the corner and went back out. The blower dryer turned on in the bathroom and Temari and Kankurou used all their will power to not look at each other and laugh. He came back in later and got his jacket then went downstairs to wait outside.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Gaara froze at the door and turned to face his father.

"I—I'm…"

"He's going to the movies with Neji," Kankurou said coming down the stairs.

"Says who?"

"Says me," Kankurou said, crossing his arms. "Neji called and asked. I said yes."

"It is not your call to make," his father said as the sound of a car pulled up to the house. "Stop spoiling him and trying to be his father."

"Someone has to," Kankurou said, just as loudly and angrily.

Gaara started for the door, not wanting to get involved in anything, but was pulled back.

"I never said you could go. You'll have to tell your faggot lover that you changed your mind," he said, shaking him hard, as Kankurou got a seriously pissed look on his face.

"No, I want to go!" Gaara said, regretting it the instant the words left his mouth.

His father lifted him off the ground and slammed him into the wall. "Don't you _ever_ say no to me, brat!" He moved to punch him, but Kankurou grabbed his arm and held him back.

There was a knock at the door and Gaara hurriedly broke out of his father's grasp and opened it, knowing his father would stop the second it was. Neji smiled at him and Gaara smiled back, then looked back at Kankurou and his father. Kankurou pushed them both out telling them to have fun, then shut the door after them.

Neji stared at the close door as Gaara took his hand and pulled him back to the car, cringing at his pained back, holding the place on his chest where his father's fist had ground into.

"…Is…something wrong?" Neji asked as they got in. "Are you alright?"

"I'll tell you later."

"…ok…"

"Movies?" their driver asked.

"Yes," Neji said sitting back. At Gaara's questioning look he leaned over and whispered, "My uncle's the head of the family so you get a bunch of perks living with the main house."

"Where's the limo then?" Gaara asked grinning.

Neji shook his head, grinning as well. "Too flashy. I like this one better." Neji had called ahead and reserved tickets so they didn't have to wait in all the ridiculous lines. "I wasn't sure what kind of movie you wanted to see. Hinata said the Ring 2 was good though," Neji said as he took the tickets out of the machine.

Gaara's face lit up. "I saw the first one with Kankurou. It was good."

"I haven't seen either," Neji admitted. "What happens in the first one?" he asked as they got in line for food.

Gaara explained the entire movie to him as they waited. Neji ordered them both curly fries, soda and wings to share. They walked to the theater where movie was showing and chose seats in the back; one of those couple seats. Gaara was still talking about the first movie, which amused Neji. Gaara, he noticed when they were getting food, talked with his hands so Neji carried his food while Gaara carried his own and the wings and was having difficulty talking now that he couldn't use his hands. When they sat down, Gaara suddenly stopped talking.

"Am I talking too much?" he asked.

"No, I love listening to you talk," Neji told him as he sat back. "It's a lot better then listening to myself talk."

"….." Gaara looked down at his fries. "I'm really sorry I called you a soccer obsessed freak."

"I know you are, but hey, I _am_ a soccer obsessed freak," Neji said grinning. It instantly faded as he spoke next. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. What I said was completely fucked up, and…." Neji let his hand fall onto his lap. He couldn't really say how sorry he was, there wasn't really words. "I really like you, Gaara, and I don't want stupid things we say mess us up. Neither of us are very good at telling how we feel anyway…"

Gaara smiled back at him and nodded his agreement.

"Will you forgive me for what I said? And…and if I hurt you on Friday?"

Gaara eyes widened. "You don't have to apologize! And it—it didn't really hurt that much!"

Neji looked Gaara solemnly in the face and Gaara stopped.

"I—I forgive you…" he said quietly.

Neji smiled at him. Gaara was staring at his knees, but he smiled back then looked up at the screen.

As the lights faded for the previews, Neji looked down at the redhead, then down at his wrists. He was wearing long sleeves so nothing would show. He wondered if he would show him.

"Gaara…" he whispered quietly. "Can I see them?"

"See what?"

Neji reached over and touched his wrist. "Your scars. You don't have to if you don't want to. I just…want to see."

Gaara paused for a moment. At first Neji didn't think he would, but then Gaara held out his left arm for him. Neji pulled his sleeve up to see. Gaara knew he probably couldn't see anything in the light, but Neji took his arm anyway, gently running his fingers along each one. He was touching them so lightly it sent shivers down Gaara's spine. There were so many, Neji hadn't expected this many. Crisscrossed in a frantic chaotic pattern, some were still healing, while others were barely there anymore. He brought his arm to his face and lightly kissed them and let go. Gaara stared at his arm, then at Neji.

Neji smiled down at him, his sad face lit up from the movie screen.

"Why did you do that?" Gaara asked.

"Cause I wanted to," Neji said. "You're so pretty."

Gaara blushed, then turned back to the screen. He wished he could tell Neji what he thought about Neji. How he thought he was the most beautiful thing in the world, and that when Neji talked to him he felt like he was flying. He couldn't form the words in his mouth and they died quickly. Gaara hung his head at his own shyness then sat back and laid his head on Neji's shoulders, bringing his knees up to his chest and relaxed.

"I thought you didn't like this," Neji said, though happy he was.

"I didn't like Itachi like this," Gaara said after a moment's thought. "…I…wouldn't mind if it was you," he added, blushing darkly, glad no one could see.

Neji smiled broadly and happily as the movie started, but Gaara couldn't see it. Neji put his arm around Gaara's shoulders as the smaller boy cuddled closer and watched the movie.

Neji had already eaten, so he wasn't that hungry. Gaara was though. He ate through both their curly fries and half the wings. Neji didn't mind though, he was personally happy to see Gaara eating so much. He would have gone and gotten more for him to eat, but the movie was apparently scaring Gaara shitless (sorry couldn't think of a better word)—though he was loving ever minute—and wouldn't let him leave.

The Hyuga didn't really understand what was going on, even though Gaara explained the whole first movie to him. All he got out of it was there was this crazy girl who was an insomniac like Gaara but dead, who killed people through some video and was trying to possess some woman's son. It was scary though, he jumped at random scenes more then Gaara did. When the crazy girl was chasing the woman out of the well, he and Gaara both had a death grip on each other staring wide eyed at the screen. As the woman yelled 'I'm not your fucking mother!' at the girl as she closed the well, several people cheered as did the two of them.

After the movie ended and everyone started filing out, Neji and Gaara stayed put, to comfortable to move just yet. Neji's head was resting on Gaara's now, his fingers gently running through his hair. Gaara was basking in the feeling of Neji's fingers in his hair, eyes were half closed in contentment, his arms wrapped around his knees.

"What was going on at your house?" Neji asked quietly after a moment's silence.

"My dad doesn't like you…" Gaara replied quietly. Neji was pleased to hear no stumbling in his words. "He was mad that Kankurou said I could go and he didn't want me too."

"Why not?"

"….he doesn't like…boys together…"

"Ah," Neji said, breathing out. "But Kankurou's ok with this?"

"Yeah," Gaara said. "Just dad…he was mad."

"How often does he yell at you?"

"……"

"Gaara…" Neji lifted Gaara's chin up to look at him.

"…a lot…he doesn't like me," Gaara murmured, looking away, unable to look steadily at Neji's intense, white eyes. "He says I'm ruining their lives."

"Are you?"

Gaara bit his lip and looked down at the floor, stumbling on his words again. "I guess…"

Neji frowned slightly. He did _not_ want that, but Gaara continued and he listened to him.

"…Well I know Kankurou's always worrying about me and never really has time for himself. Temari…is always scared and hates fighting. It makes her grumpy herself and she and Kankurou go at it sometimes. I don't want them to live like that. But I know they try their hardest to make sure I don't live like that too."

Neji smiled and pulled him closer. "You three are the most unique individuals I've ever seen," he said. "You know…I don't want you three living like this either. I could…I could tell my uncle about your dad and he could—"

"No!"

"Why not?" Neji asked. "He could stop your dad, I mean—"

"No, Neji," Gaara said sadly, "you don't understand. It wont stop. Dad has…friends. They—they've … hurt me…I don't want to put you in danger too. Please don't say anything."

"Ok," Neji whispered. "I wont tell I promise."

Gaara closed his eyes, laying his head back down. He felt safe, almost as safe as he was with Kankurou. It felt good.

"Hey, you two. You need to get going."

"Sorry," Neji said to the theater person, mentally cursing the man for interrupting their cuddle time. _'Daaaamn you asshole!' _The two of them unfolded from each other and stood, stretching. They walked out of the theater, through the lobby and out into the cool air.

"When are you supposed to be home?" Gaara asked.

"Hiashi said to call when we were done," Neji said shrugging. "We could walk around if you want."

"Sure," Gaara said as they turned and started walking down the side walk.

"This is the Avenue. Where Hinata took Temari when you first came over my house," Neji said as they walked.

They looked around, window shopping, pointing stuff out to each other. Neji swallowed and bit his lip. Reaching over he brushed Gaara's hand, silently asking for permission. Gaara smiled and took his hand, lacing his fingers in Neji's. They got several weird looks from people walking by, but Gaara didn't mind as much as he did when he was with Itachi. Some people muttering things loud enough for them to hear. To these people, most teenagers from their school, Neji either flipped off or insulted back.

Gaara was quiet as they walked down the street. Never had he thought he'd be walking down a public place, holding hands with someone. The last time this happened was with Temari when he was really little, and this was an entirely new situation. No one had ever told him they liked him. The thought made him feel giddy and light. The only thing he wanted now was to make Neji happy, because he was making him happy. He wasn't quite sure how to go about that, but he'd try all the same.

Neji watched Gaara out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't remember Gaara ever looking so happy. The smaller boy seemed to be enjoying himself. It made Neji feel proud. Gaara hardly ever smiled in school, but here he was walking down the Avenue, holding his hand, looking as happy as any other high schooler. He looked so much cuter when he smiled too. Neji's expression saddened when he thought of why he never smiled. He wished he could tell his uncle about Gaara's father. The thought of that man hurting Gaara angered him more then Itachi did. But he'd promised Gaara that he wouldn't tell and he would keep his promise.

* * *

By the time Gaara finally got home at two o'clock in the morning, Kankurou and Temari were asleep in bed. All the lights were out in the house except for the bathroom light at the top of the stairs. He opened and closed the front door as quietly as he could and went upstairs. He hoped Kankurou hadn't gotten in trouble last night. He had a feeling he did, maybe even fought a bit. Gaara hoped he wasn't hurt.

As he turned to go down the hall to Kankurou's room, his father's door opened and he was grabbed and pulled inside. His father covered his mouth too keep him from calling out and dragged him into the bathroom where he was forced to his knees. His father shoved his head into the toilet bowl.

"Spit that shit out!" he yelled around the cigarette in his mouth.

"What?"

"That shitty stuff you ate at the movies. Spit it out!"

"I've got nothing in my mouth!" Gaara cried.

"No shit! Throw it up then!" he father said, shoving his head farther into the bowl.

"I—I can't!"

His father leaned over and punched him hard in the stomach. The impact caused everything Gaara ate that night to empty from his stomach into the toilet. Gaara coughed, clutching his stomach and mouth as the bile and acids clung to his throat and mouth. It burned and left a horrible taste behind. He fell back onto the floor and curled up into a tiny ball, holding his stomach and rocking back and forth.

"Don't you _ever_ think you can go anywhere without my permission again," his father said, standing over him. "And I don't wanna see that long haired fag over here again."

"Stop talking about Neji like that!" Gaara said, glaring. "He's—"

He was cut off as his father punched him, knocking him back to the floor causing his head to strike the tile. Gaara curled up again, clutching his head, seeing stars dancing in his vision and tasting blood in his mouth.

"You just don't know when to stop, do you?" his father demanded. He lifted him up and gave him another shake. "You kissed him too, didn't you?"

Gaara blushed darkly at the thought of kissing Neji and shook his head.

"Yes, you did, you fucking whore!"

His father grabbed the back of his neck and held his face over the sink. Ignoring Gaara's protests that he did no such thing with Neji, his father turned the faucet on letting scalding hot water run. He grabbed the bar of soap, wetting it, then shoving it into Gaara's mouth.

Gaara fought back, putting his hands on the side of the sink, trying to push away, spitting and gagging on the bitter taste of the soap. The grip on his neck shifted from the back to his throat, choking him. His face was shoved under the hot water, then pulled back out as his father started scrubbing out the inside of his mouth. Again under the hot water, this time he was held there as his mouth was rinsed out. The water pounded down on his temple as his face was squashed into the bottom of the sink. The water was red from his blood around him and burning him, nearly to hot to bear. Tears fell freely, disappearing in the water that felt like it was burning him alive. His father continued to scrub at his mouth, making it hard to breathe as well.

Satisfied, his father pulled him out of the hot water. Gaara coughed and choked, gasping for breath. His mouth hurt and the stinging soapy taste was still in his mouth, his shirt was wet around his neck and his hair was soaked in water and soap suds, dripping down in his face and back. A fleeting glance at the mirror showed him his face. The skin on his right side around his temple was raw red and his lip was bleeding when where he'd been hit. His father dragged him out into the bedroom. He took him over to the closet and opened it.

Gaara stared at the opened door terrified. "No…no…" he whimpered.

"Oh, stop your sniveling," his father said, starting to push him in. Gaara fought back trying to claw away from the dark space. His father yanked him off balance so that he fell to his hands and knees. Taking his cigarette out of him mouth, he ground it into Gaara's shoulder. Gaara cried out and stopped fighting back as the cigarette burned through his shirt onto his skin. Reaching up, Gaara feverously brushed the ashes and bud away, holding the burned area, whimpering in pain. As he was distracted, his father threw him in, shutting and locking the door.

"You can stay there all night for all I care."

Gaara froze. He was shut up in the closet. He was clusterphobic and couldn't stand being in small places for long. Ignoring his stinging shoulder, he ran to the door and grabbed the handle. It wouldn't turn. He banged on the door, begging to be let out. He knew his father was in the room and could hear him, but the man was trying to ignore him. A sudden loud bang sounded as the door on the other side was punched cause Gaara to jump back away from the door.

"Shut the fuck up or you'll be in there until dinner tomorrow," was the warning.

Gaara sat back in a corner drawing his knees to his chest, whimpering and crying, calling softly to his father. Eyes squeezed against the dark and the space, he trying calming himself down, remembering what he'd done in the previous hours, but it didn't work. He whimpered and whined and begged his father to let him out, clawing at the door until his fingers bled. He wasn't sure how long his father left him in there, but he did eventually let him out. He dragged his freaked out son in his own room, where the redhead crawled under the covers and hid himself from the world. He wanted to go to Kankurou's room, but didn't want to wake his brother and was too scared to move.

He wished he hadn't had to come home. He would have been willing to stay with Neji the whole night, but Gaara hadn't dared ask the Hyuga if that was ok. He remembered the feeling of Neji's arms around him as they sat and talked. He wanted those arms around him right now, more then ever.

He cried into his sheets, sobbing for his brother and Neji. But neither heard him. Neither came. He was alone in the dark.

* * *


	13. A Promise I Intend to Keep

**Vindicated**

Chapter 13: A Promise I Intend to Keep

* * *

He hadn't known he fell asleep, thinking the horrible things he was seeing were of his own creation from his fear instead of dreams. He rarely went into his room at night anyway. There was no light there and he hated the dark, never being able to sleep in it. But he had. His father woke him up, dumping him off the bed, demanding breakfast be made for him. Gaara questioned where Temari was and was rewarded with more yelling. Something about his sister wasn't a slave.

Gaara scrambled off the floor and ran out of the room down to the kitchen. He pulled a frying pan out of the cabinet, then rushed over to the fridge and pulled out the eggs. He swallowed hard as he heard his father come in and sit at the kitchen table. He felt his father's eyes burn into the back of his head and heard his foot start tapping on the tiled floor. Gaara tried to ignore him and made the eggs, being as careful as he could. His hands were shaking horribly, but he managed to cook everything right.

He took the plate of eggs and toast over to his father and placed it in front of him, then stepped back against the counter and waited. His father sniffed at it and picked up his fork. Gaara watched as he took a taste and then spat it out.

"What the hell is this shit?" he demanded.

"I—it…I thought…I—I mean—" Gaara tried to speak, but his mouth wouldn't work at all.

"Shut the hell up!" his father shouted. "You can't even cook eggs right and the toast tastes like mold! You worthless bitch!"

He picked up the plate and threw it at Gaara. Gaara coward as the plate struck the counter next to him and shattered, spraying eggs and porcelain all over the kitchen and Gaara. Gaara sunk to the floor, shaking and looked down at the mess.

"I—I'm sorry…I'm sorry, dad, I—I thought I d—did it right…"

"Obviously not!" his father said storming over to him. "I have to leave to pick up your sister soon and now I'll probably be late because you can't make something as simple as eggs!"

"I'm sorry," Gaara insisted. He started trying to clean up the mess on the floor. "I—I'll try again. I wont mess up again I promise!"

"You had your chance," his father snapped, grabbing the back of his shirt and dragging him to the door to the kitchen. "You messed up… as usual! Get out of my sight! I'll make my own breakfast. And you can clean up this mess when I'm done and apologize to your sister for making me late! Get!"

He gave Gaara a hard nudge with his foot, knocking him forward onto his face, then turned back to the counter and started making another batch of eggs. Sniffing, Gaara scrambled to his feet and hurried through the living room.

It was nine o'clock. Sunday. Where were Temari and Kankurou? As he turned to go back up stairs, he grabbed the phone and hid in the bathroom. He sat back against the shower stall and held his shoulder, tilting his head to look at the cigarette burn. There was a small circle of red where the skin had been burned. It still hurt when he moved it. He blew on it, as if that would make the pain go away.

Gaara waited until he was sure his father wouldn't follow him and dialed a number.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Kankurou."

"Hey Gaara, you ok?"

"Where are you guys?"

"Oh, I'm sorry Gaara. I left a note on your nightstand," Kankurou said. "Temari started driver's ed today. Its Sunday so there's an early morning class. I'm getting ready to take a test too."

"What for?"

"License."

"You're getting your driver's license?"

"Yeah, Kyu drove me here. You ok? You sound kinda shaky."

"I'm ok. Dad just…woke me up," Gaara said. "He wanted breakfast…but I messed up and made him late to pick up Temari. I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I messed up," Gaara repeated. "It tasted bad and dad had to make his own and now he's going to be late when he goes to pick up Temari."

"…Oh…no, Gaara it's ok," Kankurou said. "He wont be late, and if he is, Temari wont be mad at you. You know that."

Gaara made an unsure noise and brought his knees to his chest, curling up into a tiny ball.

"…Are you ok?" Kankurou said, worried.

"Yeah," Gaara murmured, nodding, though he knew Kankurou couldn't see him.

"What time'd you guys get home last night?"

"Late. Like around two."

"Damn boy! Sounds like you had fun," Kankurou's voice sounded like he was smiling and it made Gaara feel better. "What'd you guys do?"

"We saw a movie…then walked around and talked."

"Awesome," Kankurou's smiling voice pushing the good feeling back into Gaara as he listened. "Hey, hey…was he awake when you got home?"

"….yeah he was…" Gaara said slowly, the good feeling gone.

"Shit. Sorry, I tried to stay awake."

"It's ok. You shouldn't have to."

"What'd he do?"

"…Nothing."

"Gaara, please don't lie to me about this. You've never slept in your own room before, you looked like you didn't sleep that much last night and you looked like you'd been crying when I came in this morning. What was that red mark on your face?"

"Nothing. I'm ok!"

"Did he hit you?"

Gaara bit his lip. "…once……twice…" he finally admitted.

"Gaara, please tell me."

"He...made me spit out what I ate last night," Gaara said quietly.

"You mean he made you throw up? How much?"

"Everything…"

"What else did he do?" Kankurou asked.

"…He…he locked me in…the dark place," Gaara replied quietly.

"Oh…god. Are you alright?" Kankurou sounded really concerned now. "How long?"

"I don't know," Gaara mumbled. "I can't remember anything."

"That's ok, you don't have to," Kankurou said. "You want me to come home?"

"B—but…you're taking your test."

"So? I can come back some other time. You want me to come?"

"No, I'm ok," Gaara said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Gaara insisted.

"….Alright. Have you eaten yet?"

"No, I don't want to leave."

"Where are you?"

"The bathroom."

Gaara heard a girl's voice on Kankurou's end asking who he was talking to. Kankurou said 'my brother'.

"Who's that?" Gaara asked.

"It's Kyu," Kankurou said, leaning against the wall. He sighed as he thought for a moment. "Ok….um…Where's dad now?"

"Eating I guess."

"What bathroom are you in?"

"Upstairs."

"Ok, he should be leaving to pick Temari up in about…five minutes. When he's gone, make some soup or something. You don't want anything big cause you got nothing in your stomach right now ok?"

"Ok."

"Alright. Hey, I gotta go now, I'll talk to you later," Kankurou said as his name was called.

"Good luck," Gaara said before hanging up the phone.

* * *

Kankurou sighed and hung up. He didn't want to be here now. _'Crap…'_ he thought to himself. He shook his head and cleared his thoughts. He couldn't think about that now. He had to pass this test and get home as soon as possible.

"Is your brother alright?" Kyu asked, concerned.

"He's…not feeling well that's all," Kankurou said to cover up.

"Aw! Poor thing," Kyu said. "I could go over to your house and make sure he's ok while you take your test."

"That's ok," Kankurou said, smiling. "Gaara's really shy around strangers. And usually likes me to be there when he's around strangers."

"Oh, ok then," Kyu said, understanding.

They followed the instructor outside out to the car Kankurou would be driving. Kyu waited on the sidewalk as Kankurou and the instructor got in the car. Kankurou took his time adjusting all the mirrors and seat then buckled his seat belt. His instructor also buckled his seatbelt then waited patiently, clip board ready.

Kankurou exhaled slowly and listened as the instructor explained what he had to do to pass and explained how he was to be graded. It had been a while since he had driven, but as he shifted gears and eased onto the course, it all began to come back to him. He forgot that Gaara was waiting for him at home. He even forgot Kyu was watching him from the entrance, trying not to cheer out loud and distract him. He thought she would be a distraction. He got through the entire course. When he parked the car the instructor smiled and wrote some things down then handed him a piece of paper.

"You're a little rusty," he said. "But you did say it's been a while since you drove. Other then that, congratulations."

"Thank you so much," Kankurou said, unable to stop smiling.

"Pass," he said to Kyu as he approached her.

She let out the breath she'd been holding. "Congratulations!" she cried, flinging her arms around his neck.

Kankurou blushed darkly, then Kyu realized what she was doing and quickly let go of him, blushing too. They went inside and Kankurou filled out all the papers he needed to and got his picture taken. After everything was done and he had his license, they walked outside together.

"You drive!" she said cheerfully, holding out her keys.

"…You sure?"

"Why not?" she said smiling.

Kankurou grinned and took the keys. They climbed in Kyu's car and Kankurou pulled out. As they drove around, Kankurou had an inner battle, but won it.

"Hey Kyu?"

"Yeah?"

"Um…I was wondering…if maybe you'd let me take you out for a late breakfast as a thank you," Kankurou said.

Kyu stared at him before smiling broadly. "I'd love to!" she said.

"Cool," Kankurou said, grinning.

They drove in silence for a while, and then Kankurou reached down and turned on the radio, switching it to a hard rock station that was playing Rammstein.

Kyu glanced down at the station and immediately changed it back to a pop station.

Kankurou sprouted a vein mark and changed it without looking.

Kyu frowned and did the same thing.

"How is that any better?" he demanded, already getting a headache. "Its frickin' Backstreet boys! How are the Backstreet boys better then Rammstein?"

"What's Rammstein?"

Kankurou changed the station again. "_That's_ Rammstein."

Kyu listened to it for five seconds then switched stations. "They're not even speaking English!" she cried.

"Duh, they're a German band and they sound cool," Kankurou said, coming to a stop at the stop light. He pulled a roll of duct tape he'd taken from Gaara to stop him from duct taping everything in his room out of boredom and stuffed in his pocket a few days ago and switched the stations and duct taped the buttons.

"Hey!"

"—is for horses," Kankurou said automatically. He use to say that to Gaara when he was little, he never got it, but it did stop him from ranting. He wondered if it sounded stupid and Kyu would think he was a retard.

She stared straight ahead then started laughing. "I haven't heard that one before," she said, smiling broadly.

Kankurou sighed and mentally thanked the heavens._ 'Oh great holy deities, thank you for making her a ditz.'_

He took her to a diner their father had taken them to a few weeks ago. It was some little place called New Towne, but its food had the Sand-nin-gurl/H-R/Kyuubi and Shukaku stamp of godly approval. He parked her car and they walked in. When they were seated, Kyu said she had to go to the bathroom and slipped away to the ladies room. Kankurou took the opportunity to run into the men's room.

Kyu whipped out her cell phone and dialed.

"Hey! Guess what!"

"What?"

"I'm on a date sorta!"

"With who?"

"That new kid, Kankurou."

"Whoa, what? He's really weird!"

"I don't care he's really nice and I think he likes me!"

* * *

Kankurou pulled out his cell phone and dialed.

"Hello?"

"I know you're expecting me home sooner, but is it ok if I stay out a little longer?"

"….Sure…"

"Ok…um I need your help."

"With what?"

"I'm on a date of some sorts with Kyu."

"Uh-huh…?"

"What do I do?"

"….Talk to her…I guess…why are you asking me?"

"I don't know. I was on autopilot!" Kankurou cried.

"….ok…talk to her…and pay for her food."

"Ok, thanks. I'm gonna go. Thanks bye!"

* * *

Gaara put the phone down next to him on the kitchen table, giving it a weird look. _'That was weird…'_

He poured the soup he'd made into a bowl and brought it over to the kitchen table. Taking up his spoon, he stared down into the gold broth. He bit his lip, shaking a little. This was bad. Why did Kankurou tell him to do it? He didn't know and couldn't think of an answer. He almost ran to the sink and dumped the soup out, thinking he'd tell Kankurou that he ate it anyway, but he didn't. His stomach hurt from having nothing in it so he dipped the spoon into the broth and started eating.

* * *

Gaara jumped when he heard the front door open. He quickly glanced around the kitchen to see if anything was out of place. He had cleaned up everything from breakfast and washed the dishes he'd used and put everything away. He didn't want his father to know he was eating between meals. That was 'bad'. And, even though Kankurou told him too, he would still be punished for it. He didn't want his father to be mad at him for something else.

He stood silently as his father and sister walked in.

"What are you doing in here?" their father demanded.

"I was…waiting for Temari to come home…" he managed to stammer out.

"Why?" his father crossed his arms.

"C—cause…I wanted…to—"

"Shut up, I don't want to hear your idiotic stuttering," he turned and walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

"I _was_ waiting for you," he insisted in a quiet murmur to Temari.

She smiled at him.

"I—I'm sorry I made dad late," he said quietly hanging his head.

"oh…Gaara, dad wasn't late," she said. "I'm not mad at you at all."

She walked up and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a warm embrace. She smiled into his hair and rocked him back and forth until he reached up and hugged her back.

"How was driver's ed?" Gaara asked when she finally kissed the top of his head, then pulled away.

"Boring…as…hell," she said, dropping her purse and notebook down.

"Really?" he asked, sitting down at the kitchen table.

"Yeah," she opened a cabinet and took out two glasses and filled them with orange juice. She set one on the table then sat down with the other before continuing. "All they do is talk and talk and they want you to take notes down and stuff and they make you take a test like _every_ class. But the stuff's like easy. Like: What does a red sign in the shape of an octagon mean?"

"…stop?"

"That was what we _discussed_ today in class," she said. "And there's this really annoying kid that sits next to me. He is _the_ laziest person I have ever laid eyes on! All he does is sleep! I mean there has to be a limit to how much one human can sleep!"

Gaara watched her over the rim of his cup, trying not to laugh. There was a small smile there, though, and his eyes were scrunched up from trying not to. Temari noticed this and gave him a sarcastic look.

"Why are you laughing at me?" she demanded.

"I'm not," Gaara said hurriedly, putting his empty glass down to show her he was indeed, not laughing.

"You are inside," she said, smiling at him. "You should smile outside more often."

Gaara took his glass over to the sink. "People don't always like it when you laugh at them."

"So? People don't always like it when you insult them, but Kankurou and I still do it," she said. When Gaara didn't reply, she changed the subject. "Where _is_ Kankurou?"

"He's taking Kyu out for a late breakfast or something," Gaara replied. "He said he'd be back later."

"Oh, ok," Temari said, not sure of what else to say.

There was a long uncomfortable silence then Temari mumbled she was going up to her room to talk on the phone and left. Gaara looked around the kitchen, still hungry. He climbed up to kneel on the counter and opened a cabinet. Listening for any sounds on the stairs, he pulled out a box of crackers and took out a few, not enough to be noticed, and then went out front to wait for Kankurou on the steps.

* * *

Kankurou and Kyu stayed out until four in the afternoon. Gaara was still waiting on the steps when Kankurou pulled up in Kyu's car. He watched them get out, both laughing and talking about something he didn't understand. Kyu went over to the driver's side and gave Kankurou a hug. Turning she waved to Gaara before getting into her car.

Gaara gave her a little wave in return as Kankurou backed away from the car.

"Gaara, I love you!" Kankurou said after Kyu pulled away, waving before she disappeared around the corner. He pulled his little brother into a bone crushing one arm hug. "You have made my day!"

"Welcome?" Gaara replied, not sure what he did.

"Dude, she's amazing!" Kankurou continued.

He started describing to Gaara about the brunch date and what they did afterwards and what they talked about. Gaara wasn't really sure yet if he liked Kyu, but she made Kankurou happy so she couldn't be that bad. He was glad Kankurou had a good time; he always seemed really stressed out and tired. Gaara believed that it was mostly his fault and Kankurou just didn't want to admit that to him. But Kankurou always got mad when Gaara said that, and told him that it wasn't true. Neji had told him that too.

Gaara sighed. He listened to Kankurou talk about Kyu until Kankurou realized how much and how long he'd been talking and stopped.

"Hey," Kankurou said, suddenly remembering something. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine!" Gaara said a little too quickly.

"You weren't this morning," Kankurou stated. "Did you eat the soup?"

Gaara nodded. "And some crackers."

"I see that," Kankurou said, grinning as he brushed crumbs off his brother's shirt.

Gaara looked down and blushed, starting to brush them off himself.

"You sure that's all he did?" Kankurou asked, thinking of what Gaara told him over the phone.

Gaara nodded, not looking at him.

Kankurou took Gaara's chin and tilted his head so he could see his face better. "What's this?" he asked, brushing the red mark on his forehead. Gaara didn't answer or look at him. "It's a burn mark isn't it? Did he hold you under the faucet or something?"

"The sink…" Gaara bit his lip then brought his hand up to chew on his sleeve. "It was...hot…"

"Why?"

"He—he thought I…" Gaara blushed darkly again at the thought of kissing Neji and didn't continue.

"What else?" Kankurou asked, deciding not to press.

Gaara looked away, not wanting to say, but couldn't stop his hand from going up to cover his shoulder. Kankurou sighed and went up to him, taking his arm away.

"Let me see," he urged kindly. Gaara tilted his head to the side and let him pull his shirt away at the collar. "Egh…what's that?"

"C—ci…"

"Cigarette? He burned you with a cigarette?" Kankurou asked, frowning. "Again?" he hadn't meant to say again, but the word just slipped out.

Gaara nodded slowly, reaching up to put his hand on the burn again.

Kankurou sighed, closing his eyes and counting to ten. When he opened them again, Gaara was staring at his feet, looking very upset, chewing on his sleeve. "Gaara, what's wrong?"

"I—I'm sorry…" Gaara stammered around his sleeve.

"What for?" Kankurou asked, surprised. He reached out and took Gaara's hand away from his mouth so he wouldn't chew on his sleeve.

"You…you can't always…do the things you want to do," he managed to stammer. "You always have to—to worry about me."

Kankurou stared at him, but before he could say anything, Gaara continued.

"And you get in fights with dad a lot and you shouldn't have to….and…I don't want you or T—Temari to get..hurt." He glanced up at Kankurou and looked away quickly.

Kankurou looked upset as he looked down at his brother. "Gaara…." he stared, but found he couldn't continue. "Why….do you…?"

"It's true," Gaara said. "I'm just a—"

"You're not a burden to me!" Kankurou shouted, not meaning to. He saw Gaara automatically cringe at the sound, his sleeve going back to his mouth. "You have to stop thinking that! I don't care about taking care of you! I'm your brother! I want to!"

"But you never get to do what you want to!" Gaara cried back, turning to face him fully.

"So? What would I do if I wasn't helping you?" Kankurou asked.

"I don't know! You could hang out with your friends and be with—with Kyu more!" Gaara insisted. "You always have to stay home cause of me!"

"Not cause of you!" Kankurou shouted. "It's cause of dad! It's not. your. fault!"

"If I wasn't around you'd be happier! It's true! I always ruin everything! You'd be happier if I was gone!"

Kankurou involuntarily grabbed a fist full of the front of Gaara's shirt and shook him hard. "Shut up! Don't _ever_ say that again! It's not true!" he shouted.

"I'm sorry!" Gaara whimpered and recoiled, bringing his arms to cover his face, thinking Kankurou was going to hit him. Kankurou realized what he was doing and let go.

Gaara backed away from him, afraid. He was scared and being scared of Kankurou was a new feeling that terrified him. Kankurou mentally hit himself. He couldn't believe he exploded like that at Gaara.

"Gaara, I—" he took a step towards his brother, but Gaara backed away further. "Gaara, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled."

Gaara didn't answer; he was still eyeing his brother warily.

"I'm sorry Gaara, please…" Kankurou looked at Gaara, worried. "Don't—don't be scared of _me_."

Gaara quickly looked away from him and stared at the ground. He was terrified. Kankurou bit his lip and sat down on the stone garden hedge thing. He placed his hands over his face and ran them up his face and then through his hair. He sighed, angry at himself. He cursed himself, standing again and walking back to the house. He passed Gaara and stopped turning to look at his back.

**Flashback**

_Ten year old Kankurou walked out of the house and down the driveway. He hated school, but he had to go. It was better then being at home, though. He was about to turn out onto the sidewalk to walk to the elementary school, when he heard someone softly say his name. He stopped and looked around._

_Kankurou saw his almost eight year old brother hiding in the thorny desert plants surrounding their yard. He looked like he had thought about reaching out to him, but stopped._

"_What are you doing?" Kankurou asked, turning to him._

_Gaara put his hand down and glanced away back at the house, where their father's car sat. The little boy bit his lip and looked down at the ground._

"_Can I go to school with you?" came the barely audible question._

"_No," Kankurou said. "I go to school for ten year olds," he reminded him. He paused then frowned. "Come out of there, you're gonna get yourself all scratched up."_

_He waited while Gaara crawled out from under the plants, but as careful as he was he still scratched his face and hands. He didn't seem to notice care about it though, the only reaction was a slight wince._

"_Please?" Gaara begged when he was finally standing in front of his brother. "Daddy's not going to work today. I want to come! I'll be good, I promise. I'll be good."_

"_School sucks. You wouldn't like it."_

"_It's better then…home…" Gaara gasped at his own daring to say such a thing and covered his mouth with his hands._

"_Daddy yells a lot, but the teacher's at school do the same thing!" Kankurou insisted. "At least Daddy doesn't stay home all day."_

"_He does when he doesn't go to work," Gaara mumbled._

"_Don't worry, just play quietly in the living room or in the backyard," Kankurou told him. "He wont bother you."_

"_Kankurou?" Gaara asked quietly._

"_What?"_

"_Why does daddy hate me so much?"_

**End flashback**

The words and Gaara sad face haunted him still to this day. That had been the first time that Kankurou found out their father had hurt Gaara while yelling at him when he and Temari were at school.

The man had held onto the smaller boy's arm to keep him still as he yelled at him for watching TV before he was allowed to. It had been to tight a grip that it left a small bruise where his hand had been, and on his shoulder where he hit the ground after being smacked. Kankurou had come home from school that afternoon and found Gaara hiding under the dining room table, crying. He had promised to Gaara that day that he would never hurt him. He had almost broken that promise out of frustration.

"Gaara, I promised I wouldn't hurt you ever," Kankurou said. "Remember?"

There was a pause then Gaara nodded.

"I'm sorry I lost it, but I still wont hurt you. That was a promise I intend to keep. People can be upset with each other and not hurt each other," Kankurou said. The thought seemed foreign even to him, but he knew it was true. He watched Gaara slump his shoulders, then quietly added, "But you know, it hurts me a bit when you say it's all your fault."

Gaara turned and looked at him in surprise.

"Everything being your fault, is a really heavy thing to bear. I carry the same one," Kankurou admitted. "Sometimes, when I'm lying in bed I think to myself: 'I can't believe how stupid I am to let these things happen. It's all my fault.'"

"It's not your fault!" Gaara insisted, sounding frantic.

"It's not yours either," Kankurou said. Gaara looked down at his feet. Kankurou reached up and put a hand on his shoulders. "It's impossible for everything to be one person's fault. Ok?"

Gaara nodded. "Ok…"

Kankurou looked hopefully at Gaara, looking for some signs that he wasn't afraid. Gaara responded with a small smile, which Kankurou returned.

They looked up when Temari and their father stepped out of the house. They're father barely glanced at the two boys, but Temari turned and called that they were all going out to dinner. The two shared a look of surprise. This was rare...

Temari always sat up front so the two boys climbed into the back. They drove to what was apparently a good buffet restaurant. They went in and waited to be seated.

Temari smiled down at Gaara and asked what he wanted to drink.

"Water," his father said, before Gaara could say anything. He hadn't even glanced in their direction since they got there.

"But…dad…Kankurou and I are drinking soda…"

"I'm not spending extra money on that piece of shit," was his reply.

"Then I want water too," Kankurou said, crossing his arms.

"Suit yourself."

Gaara glanced up from his father to his brother, then tugged on Kankurou's jacket. Kankurou stopped glaring and glanced down at him, eye brow raise.

"You don't have to have water," Gaara said quietly. "You can have soda…"

"Nah, I like water better."

"B—but you hate water," Gaara said quietly.

"Shut up," their father said, finally turning to glare at Gaara.

"Sorry…" Gaara mumbled, staring down at the floor.

As soon as his father turned away from him again, Gaara inched to duck behind Kankurou and hid in his shadow. Kankurou clenched his fists tightly, but didn't say anything.

When they were seated, they left their coats at their places and went to the buffet. Their father stopped Gaara, pulling away from his brother and leaned down to him, pointing a finger in his face.

"Look, its real cheep to feed you here but I don't wanna see you pigging out like a fucking fool like you usually do at home. Understand?"

Gaara nodded quickly. Kankurou had stopped when he saw Gaara wasn't with them and heard what their father had said. He glared at his father enraged.

Gaara pigging out? Gaara never 'pigged out' at dinner. The measly portion his father allowed him usually went completely untouched because Gaara could barely hold his fork steady, on account of his father's angry words and insults. Kankurou had learned to block out the insults so that they fell on deaf ears. Gaara hadn't learned that yet and each harsh word hit him like a sledge hammer. Crying only made it worse too and that was also something Gaara couldn't control yet. Sometimes afterwards, his father made him to the dishes and would stand over him, breathing down his neck until he was finished. Like that made things any better for him.

He watched as their father gave Gaara another warning glare and a warning flick on his cheek that made Gaara flinch horribly, then let go of him. Gaara hurried away, running towards him and stood once again in his shadow. Kankurou placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled him closer. Gaara gave a small sigh and followed him over to get a plate. Kankurou watched as he chose his food, noting that he was trying to be very conservative about how much he was taking. Glaring over at their father, Kankurou took Gaara's plate from him and piled more on his plate.

"No...Kankurou I—"

"Nuh-uh," Kankurou said, handing his plate back to him, now laden with large helpings. "Don't listen to him. I want you to eat as much as you can, alright?"

"But…I'm not that hungry…"

"Gaara, I wish you wouldn't lie to me," Kankurou said, his eyes boring into his little brother. "You can tell me if you're hungry or if you're hurting. I want you too. I _know_ you're hungry now and I want you to eat ok? I'm worried you'll get sick from not eating."

Gaara hung his head and glanced over at their father. "Ok…" he said quietly.

"Good," Kankurou said, giving him a proud smile. "You want a roll?"

"Sure…"

They turned to go to another counter.

"_Hello_…Gaara."

Kankurou and Gaara freaked out and jumped. Hinata looked at them solemnly until they caught their breath.

"What are you doing here?" Kankurou asked. "Did the Hyuga family go bankrupt or something?"

"My father brought my sister, Hanabi and I here to get away from the stresses at the main house," Hinata said in her slow, emotionless voice. "Neither my sister nor I have ever eaten somewhere that wasn't so fancy. It is very interesting."

Gaara instantly looked around for Neji, disappointed when didn't see him anywhere.

"No, sorry," Hinata said, reading his thoughts. "Neji decided to stay home tonight."

"Oh."

He blinked when a girl as tall as him with long black hair and white eyes stepped in front of him. He suspected this was Hanabi.

"Are you really Neji's boyfriend?" she asked without an ounce of shame.

Kankurou bit his lip as hard as he could to keep from laughing as he watched Gaara's face turned beet red. Before he could say anything she continued.

"Are you really gay? You don't look gay. Why are you so skinny? You're not anorexic are you? What's up with your makeup? Have you and Neji kissed? Have you had _sex_? Why aren't you answering my questions? I know you can talk. You talked to niichan. Why do you wear all black? Aren't you hot? Are you goth like my sister? You don't look it. When are you coming over my house again? Do you play soccer too?..."

* * *


	14. Gaara and Sakura

**Vindicated**

Chapter 14: Gaara and Sakura

* * *

(**end 2nd period-Art-Neji and Gaara**)

Gaara and Neji stepped out of the art room together. Neji was talking to Gaara since Gaara didn't really like to talk in school that much, but Neji didn't mind.

"I can't believe, the _one_ time I didn't go with Hiashi-ojisan and Hinata to dinner, they see you," Neji complained, with broad hand gestures. "I mean come on! And then, and then, Kankurou made you all sit together—your father must have been pleased with that. It was a priceless moment…and I missed it!"

Gaara smiled as he listened to Neji rant. It was a priceless moment, seeing dad trying so hard not to explode. Hiashi was very, very talkative and was intent on becoming acquainted with him. Kankurou and their father had gotten in a fight later when they got home, but Kankurou didn't care and the two of them had laughed about it all night.

As a sudden hand landed on his shoulder, he walking motion was halted and he nearly lost his balance. Neji turned to see what was wrong and his smile immediately disappeared. Gaara was frozen, staring back at the owner of the hand.

Itachi smiled down at him. "Hello there," he said, his arm slowly going around him. He leaned down close to Gaara's face.

Neji grabbed Gaara and pulled the thankful boy away. "What do you think your _doing_?" he demanded, angrily.

"What? I can't say hello?" Itachi sneered.

"You're awfully cocky for a guy who got beat up at the mall by a bunch of prissy girls," Neji said.

Itachi gave him a confident scoff. "Like I would hit a girl," he said, eyes narrowing.

"Never stopped you before," Neji said quietly.

"Don't push your luck, Hyuga," Itachi said, jabbing a finger in Neji's face. "See you after school." With that he walked away, making sure he rammed his shoulder into Neji's as he did.

Neji gave a humph and crossed his arms. He looked back at Gaara who had ducked behind him and smiled. "You ok?"

"I'm fine," Gaara replied, in a squeaky voice. He cleared his throat and said in his normal voice, "really."

"Alright," Neji said, as they continued to walk, faster now so they wouldn't be late.

When they got to Gaara's next class, Neji remembered something that brightened his mood. It was the first day of soccer practice. "Your dad give you a hard time about staying after?" He looked back as Gaara stopped short, eyes wide. "What's wrong?"

"I—I forgot to ask him," Gaara said in a quiet voice. "I'm sorry…"

"What are you sorry for?" Neji asked. "Everyone forgets stuff."

"Well, I don't think I can stay after now."

"Why not?" Neji asked upset, before he could stop himself.

"Cause dad'll be mad."

"Tell him one of your teachers wanted you to stay—"

"I can't do that!" Gaara said, staring at him.

"Why?" he'd never heard Gaara say something so forceful before.

"If he thinks I got in trouble at school…" Gaara stopped, not wanting to think about what would happen. "I'm sorry," he said finally, then turned into his classroom.

"Wait, Gaara," Neji reached out and pulled him back. "Maybe we could think of something and you could still—"

"Neji, I can't…I'm really sorry," Gaara said, sadly turning back into his classroom.

* * *

Kankurou sat back and looked at Neji as the Hyuga sat down at their table with his bored cow face. He knew perfectly well that the younger boy wanted him to ask what was wrong, but he wasn't going to give him that pleasure. They just stared at each other, silence only broken between them by Kankurou's random chewing of his carrots.

"You do this just to make me nuts don't you?" Neji finally asked.

"Yep."

Neji sighed and sat back, dropping into his normal expression that instantly turned into an upset one. "Gaara's not staying after today," he stated.

Kankurou looked up form his sandwich, confused. "Why? He's been talking about this like all weekend."

"He said he forgot to ask your dad if he could stay after."

"Oh." Kankurou silently cursed, then propped his chin on his elbow.

"'Oh'?" Neji asked. "Can't you do something?"

"He specifically told you he wouldn't?"

"Yeah," Neji replied. "He said he _couldn't_."

"Then I can't do anything about it, sorry," Kankurou said. "Gaara's not sneaky, he's to worried he'd get found out."

"It's ok," Neji said. "I feel bad. I think he thinks I'm mad at him."

Kankurou gave him a small smile. "I'll talk to him if you want."

"Thanks," Neji said, starting to eat his own sandwich.

* * *

"Cause I forgot," Gaara said from where he sat at his place by Kankurou's bed.

"You could have still gone," Kankurou said. "I would have covered for you. You could say Genma asked you to stay after for extra credit."

"But he would think I got in trouble!" Gaara cried.

"Not if Genma wrote a note for you."

Gaara didn't reply. He stared down at his math homework and thought of what Neji was probably doing.

"Neji thinks you're mad at him," Kankurou said, staring up at his ceiling.

"What?" Gaara's head snapped back up. "I'm not mad at Neji! Why would he think that? I thought Neji was mad at me! I—"

"Gaara, calm down," Kankurou said, stopping him from going into panic mode. "I'm just saying, that's all. He asked me to talk to you about it cause he's worried. Tell him tomorrow that you're not mad. Ask dad tonight if you can stay after, ok?"

* * *

Dinner that night was one of those rare occasions where all four of them ate together. The seating arrangement was no where near what Temari and Kankurou wanted it to be. Their father sat at the head of the table. To his left sat Temari and Kankurou, while Gaara sat alone on his right. Because of this, neither of them could make sure he got enough to eat. It wasn't like their father would. Dinner was always a silent and nervous one.

Kankurou glared down at his mashed potatoes, peas, covered in gravy, and steak. He caught Temari glancing in his direction, wondering if he noticed the same thing. Of course he had. Directly across from him, Gaara sat, silently nibbling at his barely adequate portion of dry mashed potatoes and peas. He wasn't allowed to have the steak, though he eyed it hungrily every once and a while when he thought his siblings weren't looking. He glanced up at Kankurou and Kankurou gave him a pointed look, nodding his head at their father.

Finally building up his courage, Gaara glanced up at his father.

"…Dad…?"

Their father looked up surprised and blinked. "What?"

"Um…Genma-sensei asked if it was ok if I stay after school and help him at soccer practice," Gaara said quietly and slowly, trying his hardest not to stammer.

The older two looked over at their father, waiting for his reply. He was looked down at Gaara, probably still surprised at his boldness. It faded quickly though and their father scoffed at him.

"More like that Neji kid invited you and you're lying to make an excuse to go."

Gaara shook his head quickly. "Genma-sensei asked me a while ago, remember? He wanted me to stay after and help him with practices and the tryouts," he insisted.

"I don't remember hearing about practices, too."

"I—I guess…I forgot…" Gaara stammered, looking down. "Can I go?" the question was barely audible.

"When?"

"Every day after school."

"No."

Silence.

"What?"

"I said no," their father said, cutting up another piece of meat.

"Why..?" Gaara asked quietly.

"Because you tried to lied to me to get what you wanted."

"N—no I didn't," Gaara said.

"Yes, you did. Don't lie to me now."

"I'm not!"

"Shut up!"

Temari involuntarily screamed. Kankurou jumped up, surprised and angry. Gaara bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut, tears forming but not falling as his father pulled the knife away. The man cursed under his breath and tossed it away, taking up Gaara's unused one and finishing his meal. He stood up, saying something about being out late and left. Without a word, Gaara got up and ran upstairs. His brother and sister followed quickly, but he shut and locked the bathroom door.

Temari could see how angry Kankurou was, his fists were clenched and his eyes blazed. He called for Gaara to unlock the door, but the younger boy refused. Temari hurried downstairs and cleaned up from dinner. She picked up their father's knife gingerly between her finger tips and immediately dropped it in the trashcan.

Damn that bastard. How could he do something like that? Biting her lip and trying not to cry from anger, she took a paper towel and wiped up the redness on the table where Gaara's arm had been.

* * *

Kankurou stayed outside the bathroom door, persistently asking Gaara to open the door. He was still there when Temari came up when she was finished washing the dishes. She had a plate of rolls she'd saved. They knocked and asked again to be let in. Finally the lock inside clicked and Kankurou opened the door.

Gaara was sitting on the floor against the sink, staring across the room looking dazed, his eyes now dry. His arm was resting on the floor in a rather large pool of blood that he didn't seem to notice. Temari handed the plate to Kankurou and sat down next to him, pulling him against her, holding him tight. Kankurou reached into the medicine cabinet and pulled out hydrogen peroxide, then a wash cloth from the tub. He sat down in front of them and gently took Gaara's arm, carefully cleaning around the cut. He was surprised the younger boy wasn't crying. Temari was though, but she wasn't making a sound as she did, she just let the tears run silently down her face, disappearing in her brother's red hair. The only movement Gaara made was that he cringed and whimpered when Kankurou dabbed the hydrogen peroxide on the cut, but that was all. When he was finished wrapping his arm up, Kankurou sat back.

"I saved you some buns, do you want some?" Temari asked.

Gaara shook his head.

"Are you sure? You should eat some, you know," she persisted.

Gaara again shook his head.

"Are you ok?" she asked quietly.

Gaara paused then slowly shook his head, tears now forming.

Temari pulled him closer and he relaxed in her embrace, giving a shuddering intake of breath as he tried not to cry. Kankurou sat down in front of him and placed a hand on his knee, then held out a roll, giving him a small smile. Gaara's hands shook, but he took a roll and nibbled on it.

* * *

Later that night, Kankurou fell asleep on top of his unfinished homework, with Gaara sitting, still in a daze, staring at the small lamp next to him, at his spot on the floor. The light was off, but he found comfort in the tiny lamp next to him His arm still throbbed and pain would shoot up his arm if he moved it, despite the pain relievers his siblings gave him.

He looked up surprised when Kankurou's door opened the rest of the way. It was past two forty, he wondered why Temari would still be up. But it wasn't Temari.

He stared at the man in the doorway.

His father walked in and knelt down in front of him, quiet so he wouldn't wake Kankurou. Gaara felt like calling out to his brother, but his throat dried up and no sound slipped through. He tried backing away, but the bed hindered his movement.

"Dad…I—I'm s—sorry…" but he wasn't sure what he was sorry for. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited, but nothing happened. He opened his eyes slightly and saw his father kneeling in front of him.

He watched as his father took his arm and undid the bandages. He examined the cut on his arm, not looking at Gaara's face. The cut was larger then Gaara had thought it was; he hadn't looked at it. His father pulled something out of his pocket and dabbed the cool smooth substance on the cut. Gaara couldn't stop the tiny yelp mixed of fear and pain from coming out. His father paused when he heard it, but didn't do anything. Finally satisfied his father redressed the cut then looked up at him.

Gaara couldn't look back at him and was content with staring at the lamp. His father sighed suddenly then stood and walked out, leaving the door partially open as it had been. Gaara stared after him, curling himself up to make himself smaller, then he climbed up to curl up next to his brother, and continued to stare at the light.

* * *

Gaara was out of it for the rest of the week, always seeming to be in a daze. Temari and Kankurou made sure they passed him at least four times each a day to make sure he was ok. Neji was freaked out of his mind and had no idea what to do or say, even though no one told him what had happened, he could tell something was wrong. By Wednesday he decided that he'd just be there as a comfort factor for him, walking him to each of his classes trying to act and talk normally, but it was hard.

Temari had talked to their father later in the week and he finally agreed to let Gaara go to the rest of the practices and games starting next week. Gaara had lightened up a little bit after that, but he still seemed out of it.

On Saturday, their father went out on a day trip for work, leaving the three of them by themselves. Temari got a ride to driver's Ed with one of her class mates and Kyu had invited Kankurou over to her house. Neji was unavailable that day. Hiashi had gotten him tickets to his favorite soccer team's game. He was going to refuse, so he could stay with Gaara, but the smaller boy had shook his head and said he should go, so Neji went with George, promising to call when he got home.

Kankurou brought Gaara, now feeling normal and no longer out of it, with him when he went to Kyu's right after lunch. She smiled brightly when she opened the door for them. They stepped in and looked around, staying near the door. This was unfamiliar territory for both of them. Kankurou could feel the near ridiculously tight grip on the back of his jacket as Gaara hid behind him, looking around. Glancing back at him he watched Gaara looked to his left and found himself looking a dog in the eye. He jumped, yelling in surprise as he did.

"Holy….shit, that's a big dog," Kankurou said, staring at the creature.

The dog was enormous. It was literally as tall as Gaara, with fluffy white fur that slightly covered it's dark eyes. It took a few steps towards Gaara, sniffing him. Gaara whimpered as he backed away, terrified, until he came to a wall and couldn't go anywhere. The dog stuck it's face in his, still sniffing. Gaara squeezed his eyes shut, expecting to be this dog's after lunch snack, but the dog only licked his face, then began nosing his hand wanting to be petted.

"Oh, don't worry about him," Kyu said, smiling. "He loves kids."

"For lunch?" Kankurou asked, voicing Gaara's question.

"No!" she cried. She went over to her dog and wrapped her arms around his neck. "He's my puppy! Yes, him is aren't you, Sabby?" she asked the dog, messing with the dog's ears.

"'Sabby'?" Kankurou asked.

'"_Puppy"?'_ Gaara asked mentally.

"It's short for Saber-tooth," Kyu said grinning.

"Why is your dog's name Saber-tooth?" Kankurou asked, slowly, not really wanting to know.

"Watch. Smile Sabby!" she said.

The huge dog sat back and pulled his lips back, showing his teeth in an unmistakable grin. But the two boys did not notice the smile. They were staring at the huge teeth and enormous canines.

"Hang on I'll be right back." Kyu turned and ran up the stairs and came back down quickly with something in her hands that she held out for Kankurou to see.

"…..where's its nose?" he asked.

"He's got a nose!" she cried.

Kankurou looked down, eye brow raised, at the tiny furless cat that's eyes seemed too big for it's head. It did have a nose, but it looked like the thing had run head first at full speed into a brick wall. It stared up at him.

"Mew?"

"What's it's name?" he asked.

"Killer!" she said proudly.

"Oh!" was all Kankurou could manage.

"Kankurou!" The two turned to Gaara. "Help me!"

Sabby had Gaara completely squished against the wall, continuously licking and nudging him.

"Sabby, enough with the licking," Kyu said, with her hands on her hips (Killer still in hand). The dog stopped and sat back, staring at Gaara and starting whimpering. "Oh, you're such a baby!" she cried. "He wants you to pet him," she told Gaara.

"He'll bite me!" Gaara cried, still clinging to his brother.

"No, he won't. I promise."

Gaara gingerly reached out and put his hand on the dog's enormous head, scratching it's ears. The dog's tail began swishing violently back and forth. A small smile spread on Gaara's face and he continued, more confident now. Kyu and Kankurou smiled at each other and Kyu led Kankurou into the kitchen.

"Sorry, Kyu," Kankurou said to her. "I wanted to be alone with you, but I didn't want to leave my brother alone."

"Oh, it's fine, don't worry about it," Kyu said flashing him a cute smile.

"Yeah, well…I was wondering if you wanted to go for a walk or something," Kankurou said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Kyu's face lit up. "Really? I love walks! I'd love to go for one, it's so nice out!" she said as she clasped her hands together and looked outside. "Hm…I don't want to leave your brother out or anything, but I think I have an idea to let us be alone," she added, smiling widely.

Kankurou raised as eyebrow, as Kyu turned and went into the living room where Gaara was now sitting on the floor, petting the dog, whose head was resting on Gaara's lap.

"Hey, Gaara, I have a question," she said, sitting next to him.

"What?" Gaara asked.

"You wanna make some money?"

Gaara glanced sideways at her. "You want to be alone with Kankurou?" he said, smiling inwardly.

Kyu gasped like she was offended. "I'm not going to pay you for nothing! It's just that, you see, my car is filthy and I haven't had time this week to take it to the car wash."

Kankurou glanced outside at Kyu's blue car sitting in the driveway.

Kyu's car: sparkle-sparkle!

Kankurou: "….."

In the living room, Kyu continued, "and I thought you might be bored cause there's no one here for you to hang out with. I'll pay you I promise!"

Gaara raised an eye brow. "How much?" he asked.

"How's…ten dollars sound?" Kyu said. "Ten dollars for the outside and an extra five if you do the inside too."

Gaara thought for a moment. "Ok."

"Great! Thanks!" Kyu said, giving him a small hug.

She got up and found him a bucket and rag and led Gaara outside to her car. She took out from her trunk the car cleaning stuff and set them next to the bucket. Gaara had no idea why she needed so much cleaning stuff for her car if she took it to the car wash. She had _buckets _of the stuff: soap, window cleaner, inside-car cleaner, tire cleaner, bumper cleaner, license plate cleaner, the list went on, but he didn't say anything. She brought the hose out and handed it to him.

"Have fun!"

Gaara watched Kankurou and Kyu walk down her driveway and turn away onto the street. They turned and waved before they disappeared. Gaara looked at Sabby who had followed him outside. He rolled his eyes and nodded his head in the two's direction. Sabby barked and shook himself as if he was agreeing. Gaara went back and turned the hose on, getting started.

* * *

Gaara washed the outside and inside of Kyu's car. He didn't notice that Kyu's car was already clean (he's just that kinda dense). He even found the vacuum in Kyu's house and brought it out and vacuumed the inside floor. Just as he was finishing, Kyu's parents drove up.

"Hello," they said, giving him odd looks (who's this and why's he washing our daughter's car?)

"…hi…" Gaara said.

Uncomfortable silence.

"Who are you?" Kyu's dad asked.

"I—I'm… Kankurou's brother…" he answered, not quite sure how to answer.

"Who's Kank—"

"He's that boy, honey," Kyu's mom said. "The one Kyu likes."

"Oh, I see, sorry," Kyu's dad said to Gaara.

"I—it's ok," Gaara said shrugging. "Kyu and Kankurou are going for a walk right now. They wanted me to clean Kyu's car so I wouldn't have to go with them," he added, turning back to the car, chewing on his finger.

"Are they paying you?"

"Fifteen dollars."

They laughed at this. "If you wash our car, we'll pay you for it. Same amount for the same work," Kyu's dad said, tapping the car's hood.

Gaara turned and looked back at them, surprised. That was thirty dollars all together… "Sure."

"Ok thanks," they waved then went inside.

Gaara finished Kyu's car then started on her parent's. As he was finishing the outside and starting on the inside, he wondered where the heck Kankurou and Kyu were. They'd been gone for about an hour. He heard something on the driveway and footsteps. Thinking it was them he looked up, but was surprised to see a complete stranger standing there with another car.

"Hi…" Gaara said, nervously.

"Hey there, you washing cars?" the man asked.

"Uh..."

"Cause my car could use a good washing," the man said. "What do you charge?"

"….fifteen dollars…"Gaara replied, with no idea what to say.

"Good enough," he said. He tossed Gaara his keys. "You almost done with that one?"

"Y—yeah," Gaara said, glancing at the car. Where was Kankurou? People were coming up and talking to him. It was freaking him out.

"That's perfect," the man said. "I'll be back later."

And he was gone.

Gaara stared after him, then down at the keys in his hands. _'…cool…'_

* * *

Sakura sighed as she came out of her room and went down to the kitchen. _'A Saturday with nothing to do. How shitty is that?'_ she thought to herself. Ino was working, Haku was working…everyone was working. Except her. She wasn't going to get a job until summer started. It would interfere with her school work to much. She opened the back door and stepped out with a can of soda. As she did she glanced over at Kyu's house next door.

* * *

Gaara handed the man his keys twenty minutes later. The man smiled widely and complemented on how nice his car looked. He handed the blushing Gaara fifteen dollars, then got in his car.

"While I was at the deli at the corner of the street," the man said to him, before closing the door, "I saw a friend of mine and he said he's going to bring his car for you to wash too, so don't put your things away yet. Thanks, see ya."

And he drove off.

Gaara looked down at the money in his hand. He'd never really had money of his own before. His father never gave any of them allowances and Kankurou always bought him the things he needed. He felt proud of himself to earn his own money and shoved it deep in his pocket.

"Gaaaaaaaaaraaaaaaa!"

Gaara looked around, searching for whoever called him. Sakura came running up to him from the house next door. She glomped him, smiling broadly.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, happily, turning to hug Sabby as well.

"Kankurou's here to see Kyu," Gaara told her quietly. "They're paying me to wash the cars to get me out of the way."

"Who was that?" she asked nodding to where the man had driven off.

"I donno. He just pulled up and asked to have his car washed," Gaara said. "He paid me too."

"Cool! You have like, your own little job!" Sakura said. "That's so cool!" she paused in thought for a moment. "Oh..my..god! I just had a great idea!"

"What?"

"What if you got more customers? You could get more money then…and—and I could like set up the table and chairs from my backyard and set them up in my yard and I could sell like drinks and stuff. We could both make money!"

"I donno…this is Kyu's stuff…" Gaara said, looking at the car cleaning stuff.

"So they don't cost much anyway," Sakura said. "You get loads of the stuff cheap at the super market down the street. You could pay her back for using it all later with some of the money you make."

Gaara stared, thinking for a moment. He didn't think Kyu would get mad if he used up all her stuff. And he could ask her parents if they minded. …and he found he wanted the money.

"You should ask Kyu's parents first," Gaara said.

"Ok! I'll go do that!" Sakura bounced over to Kyu's house and went in.

Another car pulled up and a man came out. He said he was the friend of the first man and asked if Gaara would wash his car. Smiling awkwardly, Gaara managed to stammer out a 'sure'. Sakura came out and said Kyu's parent said it was ok with them. She smiled at the man.

"I'm gonna set up a place where you can wait if you want," she said smiling sweetly.

The man nodded and followed her. Gaara washed his car too and accepted the money from him as well. Sakura squealed and clasped her hands together.

"We should make a sign!" she said. Before he could say anything, she ran back in her house. She came back out later with a big piece of white cardboard and markers. She made the sign and set it up at the end of Kyu's driveway.

Gaara spend the rest of the after noon washing cars, while Sakura made and sold drinks and snacks. She did help him with one enormous truck though. The man pulled up looking sheepish as he asked them to wash it. The whole thing was covered in a thick layer of mud, from it's monster wheels to it's antenna. They sprayed most of the mud off with the hose then went to work with the soap and wash clothes. Sakura did the inside to help the work go faster. The man was generous though. He told them fifteen wasn't enough for that big job and paid them each fifty dollars (Sakura's fifty included what he bought from her stand). They were just about to call it a day when two black cars pulled up. Gaara blinked in surprise as two Hyuga's got out. One was Hiashi, who he greeted hurriedly.

"Afternoon, Gaara," Hiashi said, giving him a small bow. "Sakura."

"Hi," she said smiling.

"Are you two washing cars?" he asked.

"Gaara is," she said. "I'm just selling refreshments."

"Would you mind washing two more?" Hiashi asked smiling.

Gaara smiled shaking his head. Sakura went and took the sign down then took the men over to the chairs and table while Gaara started washing their cars. When he was finished he put Kyu's stuff away and laid down with Sabby on the grass in Kyu's yard, his head on Sabby's stomach. The dog curled up with him and licked his hand, then laid his head down.

Hiashi came up next to him and knelt down, sitting on the grass as well.

"Neji's been worried about you," Hiashi said, reaching over and petting the dog.

"I know," Gaara mumbled shortly, never knowing how to respond to adults when he was alone.

"It's not often he would try to turn down going to a game. Is something going on with you that Neji would be worried about?" he asked, smiling kindly at him.

Gaara chewed on his sleeve and shrugged. He wished Sakura would come over and sit with them and start talking their heads off. He liked Hiashi and all, but he still didn't relax near him. He knew Hiashi suspected that something was going on at home, and was trying find out what that was. He couldn't let him know though. He would be punished. By who, he didn't care. Gaara was just tired of being punished. That's what his father always told him. If anyone found out, he would be punished by someone; put in a dark place for the rest of his life.

"Are you alright?" Hiashi asked.

"I'm ok," Gaara said. "Just tired."

"Are you going to practices with Neji?"

"Mm-hm. Genma-sensei asked me to be his helper."

"That's nice," Hiashi smiled at him.

"Hiashi-sama, it's time to go," the other Hyuga said, coming up to them, a cookie still in his hand.

"Alright," Hiashi said. He reached into his pocket and handed Gaara the money for both cars.

Gaara shook his head. "You helped us out before," he said. "You don't have to pay."

"I helped out cause I wanted to," Hiashi said, giving him a look. "Please take it."

Gaara swallowed hard, ducking away from the look and took the money grudgingly, stuffing it in his pocket.

"Good bye," Hiashi said as he turned and got in his truck.

"Bye," Sakura and Gaara said.

As they pulled away, Sakura sat down and started talking about all the things she wanted to buy with the money she got. She told him about every sale that was at the mall right now and the clothes that were in style and what clothes weren't. He listened to her until her mom came home from work and asked her to help carry groceries inside. Gaara thought he should have gotten up to help, but his body was tired to he stayed where he was, curling up to the white monster and waited for Kankurou and Kyu to come home.

* * *

He woke up later that night and had no idea where he was. There were soft blankets over him and a fluffy pillow under his head. He looked around and recognized Kankurou's room. He was on the window side of the bed where the extra outlet was. A light was plugged in there, chasing away the smaller shadows and dimming the darker ones. He sighed and stared at the light.

"Hey, you awake now?" Kankurou put his comic book down and glanced over at him.

"Mmph…" Gaara replied, still tired.

Kankurou laughed quietly. "I can't believe you slept that long," he said. "We took you home in Kyu's car. I left the money from Kyu in your pant's pockets by the way. They're on the floor by my desk."

"Thanks," Gaara said rolling over, away from the light, feeling safer with Kankurou.

"Hey, where'd you get all that other money?" Kankurou asked suddenly.

"Um... Is…is Kyu mad?" Gaara asked.

"Why? Should she be?" Kankurou asked frowning. He refused to believe Gaara had stolen the money. The only thing he knew Gaara was guilty of stealing was little bits of food from the fridge. "Where'd you get the money?"

"Sakura came out and we had a car wash thing. I used Kyu's soap and stuff," Gaara said, apologetically. "Is she mad?"

"A car wash? Really?"

Gaara nodded. "But—but is she mad I used her stuff?"

"I don't think she noticed," Kankurou said. "I don't think she'd care either. She was worried you'd be bored."

Gaara shook his head. "I like her dog."

"I know you do."

"Did you see how much money I got?" Gaara asked, frowning with his eyes still closed.

"Yeah," Kankurou said in a 'whoa' voice. "Dude, you made like two hundred forty-five bucks."

Gaara opened his eyes wide, staring.

Kankurou said goodnight later and turned his night stand light off, letting Gaara relish in the nightlights shine. He rolled over and closed his eyes. _'Damn…I am in the wrong business.'_

* * *


	15. In the Dark Place

**Vindicated**

Chapter 15: The Dark Place

I LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE! (pant pant pant) omg...it feels like I've been gone forever! (Shukaku: **Dude...the computer was only broken for five days!**) Five days is a lot u ass! (Shukaku: **I am not an ass...I am a--) **yeah yeah yeah a racoon whatever.. (Shukaku: **I AM A--)**

Unfortunately I don't really have anything to say to my lovely reviews today…except I love u all! Oh right, I do have a note for 2 of u though:

**Ebony:** Still deciding on the abuse thing. I probably wont show any more then what is in the fic cause the fic is my guideline and all that

**Strawberries and napkins:** dude…ur are weird……awesomely cool and random but weird…I like u….and u quoted cosmo on ur profile! Cosmo rocks! Unfortunately SNG and I are terrified of anything related to the Innocent Woodland Creatures so I no like llamas or cows…:heart:

* * *

Neji cautiously walked up to the still house. He shouldn't be there this early, he knew that, but he wanted to make sure the three siblings—_Gaara­—_was ok. Weekends always seemed to go rougher then the weekdays. He's called Saturday evening when he got home, but Kankurou said Gaara was sleeping and didn't know when he would wake up. Neji had gone into near freak out mode until Kankurou told him to shut up and that everything was ok. So Saturday was fine, but what about Sunday? He hadn't gotten a chance to talk to any of them on Sunday except for a few minutes in the morning with Gaara.

**Flashback**

"_Something weird happened?" Neji asked, munching on his waffles, the phone wedged between his ear and shoulder._

"_Yeah, I forgot to tell you before," Gaara said. "When dad…cut me, later when he came home, he came in when Kankurou was sleeping and looked at it."_

"_How so?"_

"_Like…he looked at it to make sure it was ok. Then he put stuff on it and wrapped it up again and left."_

"…_That is weird," Neji said._

"_I don't…I don't understand why…"_

"_Me neither…maybe he was …worried he'd gone too far…"_

_Neji heard Gaara sigh, very upset._

"_I'm sorry Gaara…"_

"_What for? You didn't do anything! You don't have to be sorry!"_

_Neji resisted the urge to roll his eyes as Gaara went on a long five minute rant about how Neji shouldn't be sorry cause he didn't do anything. He waited until Gaara was finished and repeated his first question of what he was sorry for._

"_I just am, I'm sorry."_

**End flashback**

Neji sighed and knocked on the front door as quietly—or as loudly—as he dared. He had to knock a few times before the door was opened.

"…Neji," Temari said in a surprised, half asleep voice. "What are you doing here? It's five thirty in the morning."

"Sorry," Neji apologized. "I came to see if you guys were ok. And to walk you to school."

Something passed across Temari's face, but disappeared quickly. "Kankurou and Gaara are still in bed," she said opening the door for him.

Neji followed her upstairs and made for Gaara's room.

"Oh, he's with Kankurou," Temari told him. "Gaara doesn't sleep in his room."

"Why?"

"There's no light in there," she said shortly, before opening Kankurou's door, directly across the hall from Gaara's, then she turned and walked down the hall to her room.

Neji opened the door the rest of the way and poked his head in before cautiously stepped in. The two boys were sleeping on Kankurou's bed. Neji had always thought Kankurou would be one to be sprawled over the entire bed with the covers everywhere, but the older boy was sleeping peacefully on his side with the covers pulled up to his shoulder. Gaara was sleeping next to him on his stomach with the covers also pulled high, but he looked like he was having a bad dream. His hands were clenched in tight little balled up fists and his face was scrunched in fear and slight pain.

Neji knelt on the floor next to him. Reaching out, he gently brushed Gaara's pale cheek with his fingertips. Gaara automatically flinched at the touch and made small whimpering sounds.

Neji bit his lip and looked down at him sadly. He hated when he made those noises. He tried again, to make some form of comfort, touching his shoulder.

"Gaar—"

Gaara cringed and whimpered. "No…please…no…Kankurou…"

Over Gaara, he saw Kankurou's eyes snap open in slight alarm as his younger brother called for him in his sleep.

"What are you doing here?" he asked in surprise. Apparently, Neji wasn't who he suspected to see, though he was relieved.

"I came to see Gaara," Neji said, not taking his eyes off the shaking boy, not sure how to help him. "He's having a nightmare…"

"Wouldn't be the first," Kankurou muttered angrily. He propped himself up on his elbow then spoke again in the softest, kindest voice Neji'd ever heard and definitely didn't expect out of the gruff Kankurou. He called to Gaara telling him that it was ok, and he was right here, and nothing was wrong, and it was just a dream.

Gaara made a sleepy noise and rolled over towards Kankurou. Neji couldn't see his face, but suspected Gaara had woken up because Kankurou smiled and said good morning.

"Neji's here," Kankurou said, nodding over at him.

Neji leaned over the bed and rested his chin on Gaara's shoulder as he twisted his head to look. "Morning," Neji said, smiling.

"Hi," Gaara said quietly, still tired.

"Gaara," Temari poked her head in, hair still dripping from the shower. "It's your turn in the shower."

"Ok…"

Neji moved as Gaara got up and sleepily left the room. Neji frowned after him. He had slept in his clothes and he was wincing slightly at each step. He turned back to Kankurou in a demanding way. "Is he ok?"

Kankurou rolled over to his back and stared at the ceiling for a moment. "'Ok'?...No, he's not," Kankurou admitted. "He's exhausted mentally and physically…and he's scared. Last night didn't go so well."

"Why, what happened?"

"Dad shut him up last night." Kankurou's voice became distant and far away, like Gaara usually did when he was talking about what their father did.

"'Shut him'…?"

"Locked him in a closet to 'think about what he had done'." Kankurou scoffed.

"What'd he do?"

"Ate something between meals."

"What?" Neji stared. "How's that bad?"

Kankurou didn't say anything for a minute. "Gaara's not allowed to eat between meals," he said shortly.

"But…what if he was hungry?"

"Sucks to be him."

"Did anything else happen?" Neji asked quietly.

"Nothing _bad_," Kankurou said. "I mean, he didn't like beat him _really_ bad like he usually d—…" He stopped himself and glanced sideways at Neji. The boy was trying to mask his expression. "Be careful with Gaara's back," Kankurou said quietly.

"What'd he do?" Neji demanded.

Kankurou didn't answer, but his fists were clenched angrily.

"Kankurou…I wanna know…so I can help…in what ever way I can."

"He made him lay face down on the bed then hit him with his belt…a lot…and really hard…all over his back," Kankurou said slowly, as though he was trying to contain his anger.

"Why didn't Gaara try to fight him? Like…try to get away? My god…how could he just lay there?"

"Cause dad _told_ him to lay there," Kankurou said softly. "He told Gaara not to move or make a noise…so he didn't."

Neji swallowed funny. As much as he wanted to know, he didn't want to just as much. Horrible images of the man ordering Gaara to lay on the bed and Gaara obeying as the man beat him and hurt him flooded into his mind. Neji felt what he swallowed funny get stuck in his throat. He felt himself starting to tear up, but forced them away. Kankurou was still talking.

"When he was done, Dad locked him in the closet. Gaara's majorly claustrophobic. He hates being locked up. If he makes any noise he gets left in there longer. He can't help it though, he get so scared he looses himself and freaks out. He was pretty spooked when he got out. I didn't think he'd sleep."

"Is he ok to go to school?" Neji asked, worry clear in his voice. "He should stay home!"

"He'll go anyway; he does it all the time. He wont stay at home by himself with the possibility of Dad being here too anyway," Kankurou said, rolling onto his side away from Neji and pulling the covers over his head.

"'All the t—'… This—this has happened before? Since you came?" Neji asked, wide eyed.

"Yeah," Kankurou's voice was muffled by the covers.

"When? Why hasn't Gaara said anything?"

But Kankurou had gone back to sleep and didn't answer him. Neji stood back and stared at the floor, thoughts racing.

Gaara came back in a few minutes later and went over to Kankurou's side of the bed and poked and shoved him until his head came out. He told him the shower was free, but Kankurou didn't move.

Neji blinked and his eyes widened.

Gaara hadn't put his new shirt on yet.

Neji didn't want to stare, but he couldn't make him self look away. There were burn marks and scars from cuts all over his chest and shoulders, some bruises were still present, but most were going down.

He watched as Kankurou rolled away, grumbling, from Gaara to escape his little brother's pestering, but Gaara climbed up on the bed and started pushing him off. In doing so, he revealed his back to Neji, who felt his breakfast start to come up and instantly looked away. Dark scars, faded scars and bruises stained the small body. He could barely find an unmarred area. Burn scars weren't rare and Neji see cuts and bruises around his neck as if someone had choked him, digging their nails in his neck. When Kankurou had first told him about Gaara being abused, he had expected something, but not this. This was horrible, revolting. He could practically stand there and count each of his ribs; he hadn't realized Gaara was that thin. Too thin..._too_ thin…

Anger boiled inside him. How could that man do that to his own son? How could he not feel any guilt? What had shy little Gaara done to deserve such horrible punishment?

Gaara finally succeeded in pushing Kankurou off the bed and bounced on top of him until he got up. Deciding he had enough Kankurou stood quickly, causing Gaara to tumble off him.

"Alright already! Geez…" he muttered and sleepily trudged out of the room to the bathroom.

Gaara got up and came around to the other side and smiled at Neji, quite happy to see him now that he was fully awake. Neji must have had a funny look on his face, because Gaara's smile slowly disappeared and he asked what was wrong.

Silently, Neji went up to him and wrapped his arms around Gaara, holding him tight, but was careful with his back. He has seen several long, fresh red marks there Neji suspected were from the happenings of last night. He felt Gaara flinch at the close, unexpected contact, but Neji didn't let him go, he couldn't.

"N—Neji? What's wrong?" Gaara questioned in a confused voice.

"I'm sorry," Neji whispered, holding him tighter, nuzzling into Gaara's neck.

Gaara glanced over at him. "Why?"

"Do…do they…hurt?" he whispered.

"'Do they'…"

Gaara gasped and pulled away, ignoring the pain in his back and grabbed his shirt, quickly pulling it on. He was blushing at his secret being revealed and backed away. Neji watched him make a large distance between them where he could feel safe.

"Gaara, it's—"

"I—I didn't want you…to see them…."

"Gaara, don't you trust me?" Neji asked, wanting to comfort him, but didn't know how.

"People don't like looking at me," Gaara said darkly, to the floor. "They don't like getting involved with people who…look like this."

Neji knew what he was trying to say. He thought Neji wouldn't want to be with him now that he saw how bad things were. "Look like that? …Gaara, I knew about them before. I've just never seen them."

"So? You saw them now!" Gaara said clenching his fists.

Neji took steps closer to him, but Gaara backed away from him. When Gaara met the wall and found he couldn't go any further, Neji approached him and hugged him again, not letting him go this time. Gaara shook and whimpered. He wanted Neji to let him go. He was scared, but Neji didn't let him go.

He sat down on the bed, drawing him down too, to sit on his lap. Gaara tensed up, fearing the nearness of his touch. But it was different then with his father, or Itachi. Neji didn't do anything other then holding him close in his arms, rocking him slowly, trying to calm him down and stop his horrible shaking. He looked down at Gaara's white knuckles and took his hands in his own, gently forcing him to spread his fingers out again and relax.

"I don't care about them," Neji whispered in his ear. "I mean, I do care, but I'm not going to judge you for it. I love you too much to do something that fucked up."

Gaara started suddenly on his lap. "W—what?"

"I don't care about them," Neji repeated.

"N—no…the other thing…"

"…..I love you too much?"

Gaara slowly stopped shaking. He sat very still, relaxed in Neji's embrace. Neji's eyes widened in sudden realization.

"No one's ever said they loved you before?" Neji asked quietly.

"Temari…and Kankurou," was the only reply.

"…No one else?"

Gaara shook his head slowly, still staring wide-eyed at nothing.

Neji held him closer, nuzzling in the boy's semi damp hair. "Well, I do too. I love you," he repeated.

Gaara laid his head against Neji, listening to his heart beat. In his mind he repeated those three words over and over. His panic and fear slowly died with each time the words ran through his mind. Neji continued to hold him and rock him as if he was a small child and he was comforting him. Neji placed his hand on top of his and let his fingers slip in between Gaara's and gave them a squeeze. Gaara smiled down at their hands and gave a small squeeze in return.

"What is _he_ doing here?"

Neji looked up and Gaara grabbed Neji's shirt, tensing up again.

"I came by to walk them to school," Neji replied calmly.

"I recall saying, _Gaara_, that I didn't want _him_ over here," his father said.

"S—sorry, I—I didn't…I—I mean, I…" Gaara mumbled, scooting off Neji's lap to sit next to him on the bed.

"Why do you keep disobeying me?" his father demanded.

"I—I—I d—didn't mean….I w—wasn't—"

"Would you stop your pathetic stammering?"

Gaara bit his lip as it began to tremble violently. He decided that not speaking was better then trying to. He didn't trust his voice, feeling it quavering without making a noise.

Seeing Gaara bite his lip to hide it's quivering, Neji frowned and stood up. "He didn't invite me over. I came myself. You shouldn't jump to conclusions like that."

Alarmed, Gaara also stood as his father grabbed the front of Neji's shirt. "Last time I check, you were the kid and I was the adult _and_ the parent. I make the rules in this house and I expect them to be followed."

Gaara hurried over to the two. "D—Dad…p—p—please d—don't hurt—"

"I said stop your stammering!" his father shouted, smacking Gaara's chest with a loud thud and shoving him back against the bed. Though the bed was soft, the sudden impact on his back made him wince and whimper, sliding down to the floor, his arms brought up to protect his face from any more attacks.

Neji stared, horrified at seeing Gaara in pain then turned to glare at the man in front of him.

Kankurou came out of the shower, dressed and his hair still wet. He stopped at his door and frowned at the situation, but didn't say anything. Neji kept a straight face, eyes never leaving the man's. Gaara looked worried, not sure of what he should do. Kankurou looked back down the hall as Temari came up the stairs, saying breakfast was ready. The three's father gave Neji a dark look.

"Are you expecting to eat my food as well as enter my house with out my permission?" he asked, daring Neji to say yes.

"I already ate breakfast," Neji replied coolly. "Like I said, I only came to walk them to school."

"You mean 'walk _Gaara_ to school'," their father said.

"…."

"So go then," their father let Neji go and gestured to the door. "Go walk him to school."

"He hasn't eaten yet," Neji said, not moving.

"He doesn't need breakfast, _do_ you?" his father turned to Gaara. "You eat enough of the food in my house for your own good, _don't_ you?"

Kankurou's frown deepened. Neji could tell that he was mentally begging Gaara to say he was hungry. Neji wished he would too, he was too skinny—unhealthily skinny—he needed to eat, but Gaara was too afraid to say anything that might make his father even angrier at him.

"No," was the quiet reply. "I'm not hungry."

"You eat to much already don't you?" his father sneered down at him.

"Y—yes…I'm sorry…"

"Sure you are. Go. Now," his father said coldly, pointing at the door.

Gaara quickly walked passed Neji and his father automatically, eyes focused on the floor. Kankurou stopped him with a hand, as he tried to leave the room. He didn't look down at his brother as he stopped, continuing to stare at the floor. Kankurou met his father's gaze evenly before speaking.

"That's not fair Dad," Kankurou said, glaring. "You can't freak someone into listening to you. He hasn't eaten since you stopped him from eating that piece of toast yesterday morning!"

Neji's eyes widened and he stared passed the man in front of him to Gaara. Toast? It had only been a piece of toast? "What the hell? That's crazy!"

"He should eat more at dinner instead of eating between meals!" the three's father glowered at his oldest son.

"You don't let him!" Kankurou shouted.

"That doesn't give him an excuse to disobey!" was shouted back.

"He was hungry dad!" Kankurou shouted. "Let him eat!"

"He just said he wasn't hungry. It came out of his own mouth," their father said. "I can't form words there."

"You can if you beat it out of them," Neji said angrily.

The shouting match was silenced and a deadly quiet followed. Neji instantly realized he said too much. Kankurou had told him not to say anything about him knowing about the abuse in their home life, especially to their father. Kankurou's expression twitched and his eyes were fixed on his father; Gaara's face was pale as a ghost. Their father slowly turned on the smaller boy. Gaara looked terrified.

"I didn't tell him!" Gaara nearly screamed in panic, backing away into the hallway.

"Oh, sure. How the fuck else could he know?" his father demanded, his voice sent chills up Neji's back.

Kankurou stepped in between his brother and possibly certain death. "How do you know he told?" Kankurou demanded. "He could've found out some other way!"

His father scoffed. "Like how? From you? I highly doubt that. You know what'll happen if _you_ tell. Who else? It has to be him!"

He shoved Kankurou out of his way and advanced on his youngest son. He grabbed Gaara, wrenching his arm painfully.

"Don't you ever learn? You're so stupid! I don't think you had enough time in the closet last night!"

"No!" Gaara cried, fruitlessly pulling away. "I'm sorry!"

"You damn well should be!" His father dragged him down the hall to his room.

"No!" Gaara whimpered, his voicing cracking in terrified sobs. "Please…please daddy, I'm sorry! I'll be good, I promise! Don't put me in there! Please!"

At Gaara's sobbing cries, Neji finally found his own voice and forced his body to move. "No!" he cried, following Kankurou out. "He doesn't like it in there!"

"That's what makes it a good punishment," his father said, opening his door and shoving Gaara inside. He closed the door and turned to the two boys.

"Dad—"

"You," he said to Kankurou, stopping him in his tracks, "better get your sorry ass to school before I forget the deal we made. I'm sure that bastard would love to know the dark secrets of his precious big brother."

Kankurou didn't say anything. Their father turned to Neji.

"Obviously you haven't told anyone yourself, but I'm not going to take any chances. You'll be staying here until I come home tonight and figure out what to do with you."

"What?"

"Hell no," Kankurou said. "You can't hold him like a fucking hostage!"

"Do you really want to make me any angrier today, Kankurou?" his father sneered. "I suggest you leave now, or my hand might slip with your brother."

Kankurou exhaled angrily, a mental war raging in his head. If he protested it would be worse for Gaara later. But he didn't want to leave him alone in the closet for an entire day. Both choices were bad, but he turned and went into his room, coming back out with his backpack and trudged down the stairs, passing his terrified sister. He shoved his feet into his shoes and opened the door, plans of disobedience already forming.

"Temari."

Temari jumped and looked up at her father. "Yes?"

"Go to school."

She turned and ran down stairs, putting on her shoes and grabbing her backpack and followed Kankurou out the door.

After a few minutes of silence, Neji glared at the man in front of him. _'Maybe what happened with the knife was a fluke that night,'_ he thought thinking about Gaara and his phone call. _'He doesn't really care.'_

"You're sick," he said.

"And you're a gay fag. I suppose we're even."

Gaara's father grabbed him and pulled him into the room as well. Gaara was curled up in a corner of the room and stared as his father brought Neji in. He looked startled to see Neji coming in with his father. Neji gave Gaara a small smile before he was shoved in a closet. Gaara looked so scared; it hurt Neji to see him like that.

'_Don't be scared,'_ he told Gaara, wishing he could read his thoughts. _'I'll be fine…don't be scared. I'm right here…'_

"Give me your cell phone."

Neji glared at the man and pulled his phone out of his pocket. It was placed on the dresser and the door was slammed in his face, wrapping him in darkness. Neji heard the lock click.

He pressed his ear to the door and listened. He could hear Gaara whimpering and begging his father not to hurt him, sobs were broken by promises to be good, but the man didn't listen. He started yelling at Gaara, telling him how worthless and stupid he was. Neji pulled away and covered his ears from firm hard blows began, but he could still hear Gaara crying for him to stop. He screamed in his head for the man to stop hurting Gaara. He'd done nothing wrong! It wasn't his fault!

Why did he ever open his mouth? Hiashi had always said his mouth would get him in trouble, but he never expected to get Gaara in trouble.

A long five minutes later, the blows stopped and he could hear Gaara's sobbing as a door opened and closed. "_Stay_ in there. I'll be back later," he heard the man say.

He had another closet! How uncool was that? Neji had expected them to be put in the same one. He could've comforted Gaara then. He hadn't counted on this.

Almost immediately after the other door was shut, he heard Gaara pounding on the door, wanting to be let out. Begging, voice breaking, sobbing, yet too scared to feel the pain from his movements. Neji slumped down onto the floor, his breath caught in his throat as he tried to swallow the lump growing there. How could that man do this to his own son?

Neji waited quietly and patiently for the next two hours as Gaara's father got ready for work and did stuff around the house. It was impossibly hard to sit there quietly in the dark while Gaara's voice continued from somewhere outside his vision, but he focused his mind on waiting and endured. When he heard the car pull away he began feeling around for a way out. The door opened in so the hinges were on the inside. He felt around until he found something hard and beat on the pegs upward until they came out of the hinges.

He wasn't afraid of the dark, nor being shut in a closet. On days when he didn't want to go to school, he use to lock himself in his closet so no one could find him. He forced the door open and stepped out into the room. He picked up his cell phone and looked around. There were three other doors in the room. One was shaking as the boy behind still desperately tried to get out. He went over to that one quickly and opened it.

Kneeling down, he pulled Gaara out. The smaller boy buried his face in Neji's stomach. He could barely breathe and his throat sounded raw and dry from crying and screaming in the dusty closet for the past two hours. It came out in short raspy breaths, sobs and coughs that racked his entire body.

Neji bit his lip as he practically felt Gaara's heart pounding feverishly against him. He wiped away the boy's tears from his soaked face as gently as he could. Hearing how horrible bad Gaara's breathing was made Neji take a few deep breaths himself. If he was this bad after being here for only two hours…Neji thanked god he had gotten him out. He didn't think Gaara would have lasted an entire day. He would have died from hysteria.

He held him for a long time, stroking his hair and whispering soft, kind words to him, but Gaara wouldn't calm down. Neji tried everything he could think of, but nothing worked. Gaara was frozen in a state of hysteria; he couldn't hear Neji's voice and could only curl up in a tight ball as Neji held him. He wouldn't get up or move either. Neji finally lifted him up and carried him into Kankurou's room.

As soon as he was in the familiar environment, Gaara struggled, kicked and shoving, out of Neji's grasp and crawled onto Kankurou's bed, clutching the pillow and comforter tightly.

Neji stood back, startled at the sudden movement, not sure of what to do. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Kankurou's number, hoping he wouldn't get the boy in trouble. The answering machine came one and Neji waited for the beep, pacing nervously.

"Hey Kankurou, it's Neji. Look, I got him out, but I can't get him to calm down. He's really freaked out and I tried everything I could think of, but he wont calm down. Um…call I guess when you gotta chance. Bye."

Kankurou clicked a button on his phone and leaned against the bathroom wall. Ukon stood across from him looking concerned. They both skipped their fourth period classes to hang out in the bathroom.

"Is your brother alright?" he asked.

"No," Kankurou said honestly, shaking his head.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Do you have problems at home?" Ukon asked, his face set.

Kankurou stared. Did Ukon know how much he looked like Sakkon when he did that? He thought for a minute, wondering about his answer.

"Yeah I do," he said finally. "The reason I need the money that I get from selling this shit is cause when I turn eighteen I'm moving out. I'm taking Gaara and Temari with me too. I'm not leaving them behind."

"….does your dad…hit you?"

"Me? He's not stupid, I hit back. No, it's Gaara he picks on."

Ukon stared. "Little birthday boy?" he asked in a squeaky voice, holding his hand about chest high. Kankurou nodded slowly. "Oh, hell no. That's messed up!"

"No, shit," Kankurou snapped. "Quiet a minute, I'm gonna call Neji back." He scanned through his phone book and clicked on Neji's number and waited.

"Hey, Kankurou." (gotta love caller id)

"Hey Neji. I just got your message. Is he ok yet?"

"Not really," was Neji's reply. "He's still freaked out. He's curled up on your bed shaking and really scared. He wont let me touch him anymore."

"Ok," Kankurou said. "Look, lemme talked to him."

Pause. "He wont take the phone."

"Just put the phone by his ear and tell him it's me."

"Ok."

Kankurou heard Neji gently coaxing Gaara, telling him it was Kankurou.

"Gaara? It's Kankurou. Tell me what's wrong."

Kankurou waited but Gaara didn't say anything.

"Gaara, please answer me. You're ok now right? You're not in the dark place anymore. Can you hear me?"

He heard a small sniff and Gaara finally replied. "Kankurou…?"

"Yep, I'm right here," Kankurou said looking relieved. "Are you ok? Do you want me to come home?"

"Kankurou… he put N—Neji in the dark place too…"

"I know, I know. Is he ok?"

"I don't know."

"Are you ok?"

"I don't know."

"Do you want me to come home?"

"I don't _know_!" Gaara cried, his voice rising in desperation. "I'm sorry!"

"It's ok, it's ok," Kankurou said softly. "It's ok, you're ok ."

"He's coming back."

"What?"

"He—he said he's coming back. He's angry."

"I know he's angry. Don't worry, I wont let him hurt you. Not tonight. I wont let him!" Kankurou assured him.

"He'll hurt Neji."

"No, he will not!" Kankurou said, sternly. "I wont let him to that either. Neji will be safe. I promise ok?"

"Ok," Gaara said quietly, sniffing.

"Ok. Let me talk to Neji for a minute ok?"

Gaara nodded silently before holding the phone out for Neji and burying his face in Kankurou's pillow.

"Hello?"

"Neji, do you have practice today?"

"Uh…yeah." _'Shit I forgot…'_

"Ok…uh…"

"Look, I'm not leaving him alone!" Neji insisted. "I'll take him to practice with me. Or I'll—I'll skip practice or something."

Kankurou sighed and thought for a minute. "Look, ask Gaara—"

"Gaara?"

Kankurou stopped and he and Ukon turned to the door. Haku was standing there looking curious. Kankurou looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"Is Gaara ok?" Haku asked concerned. "I mean that whole thing with Itachi last week was bad and he was upset about that. Did that bastard do something else? Is Gaara ok?"

"This is different, Haku," Ukon said, even he knew when to be serious.

"Can I help?"

"I don't think so," Ukon replied, watching Kankurou.

"Kankurou? Kankurou!"

Kankurou brought the phone to his ear as Gaara called him. "I'm here. What's wrong?" he asked.

"I don't want you to…to miss any school," Gaara said very slowly, to keep his voice even.

"What?" Kankurou frowned. "Gaara, I don't mind coming home for you."

"I kn—know..but…I don't wanna be a b—burden …to you," Gaara's voice broke and he seemed to be having trouble getting his words out.

"Gaara, you are not a burden," Kankurou said firmly. "I don't want to hear you say that again. Understand?"

"Sorry."

"Listen, Gaara, ok?" Kankurou said, taking a deep breath. "I want you to go with Neji—"

Gaara started protesting about not wanting to leave Kankurou's room.

"—no, no, no, listen. Go with Neji to a safe place. He'll call me and tell me where you are. Then I want you to go with Neji to his soccer practice."

"B-but…Itachi—"

"I know Itachi's there, but Haku's gonna stay with you and watch with you," Kankurou said, glancing over at the long haired boy standing with Ukon. "Ok? I'm going to come home after fifth period and come find you. Alright?"

"I don't wanna go," Gaara sobbed.

"I know you don't, but I don't want you to be home if Dad comes home early."

Gaara made a scared noise. "He's coming home?"

"_If_ he comes home early I don't want you there. Please go with Neji, just this once ok?" Kankurou waited on baited breath.

"…ok…" finally came the reply.

"Alright. I'm gonna go now. Don't worry. You'll be safe with Neji. I'll come to see you later."

"P—promise?"

"Cross my heart."

"Ok."

"Bye."

* * *

Dude...there was only two lines in this whole chapter...weird...


	16. Kankurou's Secret

**Vindicated**

Chapter 16: Kankurou's Secret

**K-Bob:** I love Sakkon…but Ukon is just so much more funnier then Sakkon…which I realized today is actually the complete opposite of what they really are in the manga…I think I just read mah sister, Sand-nin-gurl's stuff too much…Ukon's a main character in it…Crimson Love read it it's goooood

**Shinobi Gaara of Sand:** yay! It's my seme! (glomp) I heart u soo much! If u read this before I talk to u tomorrow I still canna wait for that surprise you told me about

**Junsui Kegasu:** u know what? I missed the fireworks this year (sob) it's horrible! I love fireworks! Dude…that's weird that u were thinking about that scene…cause the other day I was replaying the scene in urs when Gaara goes "HE DOESN'T HIT ME!" freaky…we're starting to share thought wave lengths again….

**Ebony:** I over exaggerate…ed? How and where? Dudette! Ur giving me real critique I so happy!

**Alisha:** meh….Gaara is a badass…but then it's like my thought train went Gaara … uke … kawaii … ADORABLE (glomp Gaara) I first heard mad l33t gay skillz from my sister…I was writing one of the chapters and she's like man…Haku's gots mad l33t gay skillz…I think she heard that from KageNoKatana which wouldn't surprise me, they're practically twins separated at birth (glomp Kage) lol on the bribery …trust me….it works…(coughs and glances away)

**Sha:** U think this chapter's depressing? ……oooh…. (clicks tongue once) … yeah … there's a more depressing chapter later…(remembers something) on and that HORRIBLE chapter I wrote a head of time cause its so bad! (pauses) oh shit… damnit! (smack self) no spoilers no spoilers no spoilers!

**Sketch13:** lemme ask u one thing……do u hate Gaara's dad:heart: Gaara's dad did die for which I am very pleased and give Orochimaru a cookie

* * *

"Bye," Kankurou said, then clicked the phone off. "Damn that bastard!"

Haku stared, nearly horrified. "Who? Gaara?"

"No!" Kankurou snapped, glaring. "My dad."

"Oh."

Ukon leaned back and watched Kankurou. "You want me here? Or with you?" he asked.

"I don't know," Kankurou said, shoving his phone in his pocket and kicking the wall. "Maybe with Temari, I don't want to see her getting hurt accidentally."

"And I'll stay with Gaara-chan?" Haku asked, happily.

"Yeah," Kankurou said, eye twitching. He turned and pointed accusingly at Haku. "Don't you dare do _anything_ that'd make me want to hurt you."

Ukon turned to Kankurou as Haku flipped out angrily in the background.

"Alright then," he said, grinning. "I feel like some crazy secret agent!" he added striking a pose.

Kankurou rolled his eyes and watched him leave. Turning he saw Haku fixing his hair in the mirror.

"Why doesn't Gaara-chan want to come to soccer practice?" he asked, pulling a fold up brush out of his pocket.

Kankurou gave him a weird look as he started brushing his hair. "Itachi," he replied shortly.

Haku glared at the mirror. "I don't blame him. That asshole, I can't believe he did that to Gaara-chan."

"How do you know Itachi?" Kankurou asked.

Haku paused in his brushing, and then slowly continued, not letting Kankurou see his face. "Gaara-chan made a mistake…I made one to…that's all…I was too stupid to see Itachi for what he really was."

"Oh…sorry…I shouldn't have asked," Kankurou said quietly.

"It's ok…I'm just glad Gaara-chan got away before it was too late," Haku said.

"Thanks…for your help," Kankurou said, giving him a small smile.

"No problem," Haku said, turning and giving him a cheerful smile.

"I won't tell anyone if you don't want me too," Kankurou said quietly.

"Thanks," Haku said, before turning and going into one of the bathroom stalls.

Kankurou turned and walked out of the bathroom, ignoring the teacher monitoring the bathroom who wanted to know why he was in there for an entire period.

* * *

Haku sighed as he leaned against the inside of the bathroom stall. He waited until he was sure Kankurou was gone before silently sinking down onto the floor, his hand going over his mouth as painful tears rose up. Horrible memories filled his thoughts, obscuring his vision.

**Flashback**

"_Are you jealous of him? He's much cuter then you were…" Itachi purred._

_

* * *

_

"_He's bad news Haku, don't go out with him!"_

"_He's really nice to me! You just don't understand."_

_

* * *

_

"_Your hair is so pretty…" Itachi said, holding Haku close, running his fingers delicately through Haku's hair._

_

* * *

_

"_Stop! Get off me!"_

"_Shut up! Hold still!"_

"_No…please stop!"_

_

* * *

_

"_Haku, what happened?"_

"_I told you so! You should have listened to me!"_

_

* * *

_

"_Your hair is so pretty long…" Itachi purred, wrapping his arms around Haku's waist, nuzzling his face in his soft hair._

_

* * *

_

"_Haku-chan! What did you do to your hair?" Ino cried._

"He_ likes it…"_

**End Flashback**

Haku picked up a lock of his long hair and stared at it, tears streaming down his face. He'd grown his hair out again since that time. He had demolished it after his relationship with Itachi. Ripping it and cutting it, hating it because Itachi liked it. Ino had helped him come out of his smothering pit of depression. He was glad Gaara didn't have to go through that too.

* * *

Kankurou waited not so patiently for fifth period to be over. He was worried whether or not Neji could actually get Gaara out of the house. He could be pretty stubborn when he was freaked out. He glared at the wall, picturing his father there. _'Dammit,'_ he thought. _'Gaara won't just leave the house!'_ he realized suddenly.

Cursing ran through his head as he thought it over. Gaara would never leave the house. Their father had wanted him to stay. He and Gaara both knew how angry he'd be if Gaara was gone when he came back. Neji would have to drag him out kicking and screaming to make him leave. Neji wouldn't do that. He was too nice.

The intercom beeped and the principle's voice sounded.

"Kakashi?"

"Yes?" Kakashi asked loudly as to be heard through the intercom.

"Is Kankurou in class today?"

"Yes."

Kankurou looked up surprised.

"Please send him to the office with his belonging for an early dismissal."

"Ok."

Kankurou grabbed his things and left the room. An early dismissal? What the freak? How did that happen? He mounted the stairs and turned down the hall into the main lobby where the office was. As he walked into the office he stopped short as a man and the secretary turned to look at him.

It was his father.

A very fake smile was on his face as he thanked the secretary and led Kankurou out of the office, handing him a blue dismissal pass as he did. Kankurou followed him out to his car and got in the passengers side. They drove off and out of the school grounds. Questions ran through Kankurou's head, and he regarded his father with suspicion. As they came to a stop light near their street, his father finally turned to him.

"Where is he?" he demanded.

Kankurou blinked and stared. "Huh?"

"Don't play dumb! Where the fuck is your brother ...and his freak of a boyfriend?" his father glared over at him.

"I don't know, I was at school," Kankurou said, mentally praising Gaara and thanking Neji. "You don't know where Gaara is?" he added forcing worry into his voice.

His father scoffed, pretending he saw through Kankurou's lie, which he now wasn't sure if it was a lie or not. "Obviously not. That Hyuga kid got out and probably let that bastard out too."

"…did you look at Neji's house?" Kankurou ventured.

"'They're both at school'," his father quoted, sounding somewhat like George, who'd been the one who answered the door. "Apparently, Neji called and told them he had a ride home from school. But he didn't go to school; he was in the closet. I think you had something to do with this."

"No," Kankurou said shaking his head. "I was gonna skip school and come home early and let him out," he added, knowing this laid on a thicker layer of belief on his father's part. It made him nervous though, he could see how angry the man was.

They said nothing for the rest of the trip home, but his father kept him with him at all times, to make sure he wouldn't go off and help his younger brother. Kankurou didn't mind though. His phone was still on silent so if Gaara called him he could answer it without any confrontations as his father asked around. But he still didn't know where Gaara was, and it worried him. He hoped Neji really did get him out of the house and safely to school where Haku was waiting. Haku could get Gaara far away and to safety after that. He had planned with the boy to maybe take Gaara to his house for a while until he could get arrangements to get Gaara somewhere else. Haku was very surprised when he learned Kankurou was going to help Gaara run away, but didn't pry into the matters of why.

Kankurou stared out the window, hoping everything would go according to plan.

'_Please Gaara…I know you can do it…'_

* * *

Even after their conversation with Kankurou on the phone, it took Neji quite a while to get Gaara to leave the room. Neji wasn't even quite sure whether Gaara even knew he was in the room. The boy was curled up on Kankurou's bed whimpering quietly, gripping the blankets so tight his knuckles were white. Neji sat at Kankurou's desk watching him, trying to rack his mind to think of something to do to help Gaara. He hadn't lied when he told Kankurou he wouldn't let him touch him. He couldn't stand the tiny pathetic noises Gaara was making.

Sighing, he got up and left to go to the bathroom, sure Gaara would be fine for a few short minutes.

Neji rolled his eyes. _'He doesn't even know I'm here. It sounds so mean, but this is getting frustrating. Ultimate patience has its limits damn it!'_ He glared at his reflection. _'Damn it, don't think like that! Gaara needs your help!'_

When he came out again, he was startled to see Gaara sitting on the floor next to the door, leaning against the wall, waiting for him, looking terrified. Thankful that he now knew Gaara _would _leave Kankurou's room on his own, Neji ignored him and went down stairs to the kitchen, trying to formulate how he was going to do this. He hadn't meant to ignore him completely, but he felt frustrated and didn't want to be bothered with his ignoring him.

Genma might question why he wasn't in school. Even though he wasn't in any of Genma's classes, the coach had an uncanny way of knowing when one of his players wasn't in school (see Genma's speech in chapter 7). Maybe if he told him that Gaara had a problem, he would bypass him, but that would mean that Coach might suspect things about Gaara and give the boy a hard time.

Everything he thought of had a bad end to it, he realized, stopping suddenly. Something bumped into him as he stopped and he was surprised to see Gaara behind him, chewing nervously on his sleeve, staring at the floor looking completely out of it.

Neji gave him a small smile and reached out, cupping the boy's cheek in his hand. He watched Gaara flinch at the touch like he always did, but Neji tried to discard it.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly.

Gaara bit his lip and reached up to grasp Neji's wrist with a trembling hand. "Don't leave me alone," he whispered. "Please."

Neji smiled warmly and put his arms around Gaara and hugged him. "I won't," he assured him. "I promise." He felt Gaara grip onto the front of his shirt and bury his face in Neji's chest. Neji held him for a moment, then let go and took Gaara's hand, leading him into the kitchen.

The breakfast Temari had made and left on the dining room table was now on the kitchen counter. It was all cold, but Neji heated up some in the microwave. He threw away the toast because reheated toast it disgusting and Neji was a picky eater. (Blame it on the money) He made more and buttered it then set the stack down on the table.

Gaara sat on one of the kitchen table stools watching him intently, but not speaking. Neji would turn and smile at him every once and while to show him that he knew he was there and that everything was fine.

Neji put a plate of toast down on the table for him, but he wouldn't eat it, mumbling something that Neji only caught part of: 'eating between meals'. Neji frowned slightly; he was refusing because he was afraid his father would get mad. This disheartened Neji, since he knew, via Kankurou, that Gaara hadn't eaten in a while and was starting to worry whether he might accidentally starve himself to death. He finally convinced him to eat a little toast. They sat in a long silence as Neji ate and Gaara nibbled.

"Neji, you should go home."

Neji looked up in surprise as Gaara spoke. He wasn't looking at him though. His body was slouched over, head down and eyes half shut, staring at the tiled table. There was no expression on his face, but his eyes were filled with emotion. Neji sighed and put his fork down.

"I'm not leaving you," he said, nodding, assuring him and himself.

"He'll hurt you if you don't. I don't want you to get hurt. Kankurou said he wouldn't let him hurt you, but then he'll hurt Kankurou," Gaara's voice spoke from far away, very sad…quiet, completely depressed.

"We won't be here to let him hurt us," Neji said, with a sly grin.

Gaara glanced up at him.

"We're going to go to school and stay for practice. Remember? Kankurou said he wanted you to go with me to practice, and Haku's staying after to sit with you. Haku won't let anything happen to you. Remember what he did to Itachi?"

His smile widened as he finally got a reaction from Gaara. He blinked and a smile twitched at his lips, but it faded quickly.

"I can't _leave_," he said, eyes widening.

"Why?" Neji asked, startled, a frown forming.

"That'd be bad, Dad would get mad at me," Gaara said, the look on his face told Neji that Gaara didn't understand why Neji didn't understand this.

"Gaara, that's why we're leaving," Neji said, pushingly.

"But…Dad's always mad at me," Gaara said quietly, staring down at the plate of toast. "I don't want him to be mad at me anymore. I don't want to be bad anymore. I'll stay. You go."

"I'm not leaving you," Neji said. "Gaara, even if you stay, your dad'll get mad at you. He's crazy!"

"I've done it before!" Gaara cried, stopping Neji. "When he's mad, Kankurou sometimes lets me out, but I stay near the—the door cause I wasn't suppose to leave and Dad was happy with me! He said I was good and he never says that! I want him to say that I was good! I don't want to be bad anymore!"

Neji stared, not sure of what to say. Just like Gaara didn't understand how Neji didn't understand his reasoning, Neji didn't understand why anyone would want to make someone like that like them. He'd heard about it though, in Health classes in middle school and programs held at schools that administrators made all students go to. Abused children wanting to make their abusers proud of them, even if it meant hurting themselves.

Neji sighed, frustrated, and lean down on his elbows, running his fingers up his face and through his hair. Gaara saw this and dropped the toast he'd been holding onto the plate like he was touching something he wasn't supposed to and backed away from it. Neji watched him. He was beginning to learn to read what Gaara was thinking by the way he acted.

"I'm not mad at you, Gaara," Neji said quietly. "I swear I'm not."

"You're disappointed," Gaara mumbled.

They sat in silence for a while. Neji wasn't sure of what to say now and Gaara went back into zoned out mode. To cover for the silence, Neji got up and took both their plates to the sink and set them in. He was just about to turn to Gaara and try to convince him to go when the sound of a key in the front door made him freeze. He wasn't positive that's what he heard until he saw Gaara's eyes widened in fear as he stared at the front door.

Without thinking, he grabbed Gaara by the hand and pulled him to the nearest door away from the front door. It was the basement door, which he opened quietly and led Gaara down the stairs. It was to risky to turn a light on so he led Gaara carefully down the stairs and made a right, feeling carefully with his foot before each step. They got to what he felt was the middle of the room and sat down, pulling Gaara with him.

They waited in silence as the foot steps walked around then went up the stairs to the second floor. Neji and Gaara had firm locks on each other as angry cursing and shouting could be heard. Gaara whimpered and started pulling away from Neji, trying to get upstairs to his father, but Neji held him tight and refused to let him go. He didn't know what Gaara would do if he went up to his father, but Neji knew what his father would do if he did.

"It's too late to go back now, Gaara," Neji whispered. He started calmly making shushing sounds to calm Gaara down, but it was also to calm himself down. Gaara buried his face in Neji's arm and let Neji hold him, scared to death.

After a few minutes, that Neji thought was Gaara's father searching the rooms upstairs, storming footfalls sounded on the steps and the first floor was searched. Neji didn't think that the basement might be searched to until the basement lights flickered on, and froze as the door opened.

"Boy!"

Gaara started violently and Neji clamped a hand over the boy's mouth to keep any sound from coming out. They froze on the floor, eyes squeezed closed, and mouths clamped shut. There was a pause.

"If you're worthless ass is down there, you better get it up here now before I beat you senseless and lock you up in the closet for the rest of your miserable life!"

As the threats fell in the air, Gaara shook horribly in Neji's arms, but he didn't move or make a sound. Neji held him closer, feeling him self shaking slightly. He found even himself completely terrified of the man at the top of the stairs. He seemed low enough to do anything, no matter who it was to. Neji wasn't sure if he would be safe from the man's anger. A horrible jolt of fear struck him when he realized no one but Kankurou and Temari knew where he was. If he came down stairs and found them it would be possibly death for Gaara and torture maybe for him.

Nothing happened though. No one came down the stairs and the basement door was snapped shut and the foot steps walked away from the door. His father must have thought Gaara wouldn't have come down there. They waited until they heard the front door shut and heard a car drive away before letting out the breath they were both holding. Gaara let out a long whimpering sob and clutched Neji's shirt tighter. The light had been left on and Neji took this time to look around.

"Neji I have to go back to the dark place," Gaara whispered suddenly, his face still buried, small sobs still lingered in his voice.

"Why?" Neji asked, still looking around.

"Because daddy's mad…and I'm scared. I don't want to make d—daddy mad at me anymore."

"What's all this stuff for?" Neji asked, unintentionally ignoring what Gaara had said. He glanced down at Gaara who sat up in his lap and started fidgeting.

"Daddy bring me here…when I'm bad. I disobey…and then…I …get punished," he mumbled after a moment's silence.

Neji stared, his face blanch, mouth open. "He—he uses …this…stuff too…Oh, my god. I—I'm sorry, Gaara," he stammered out in a whisper. "I wasn't thinking. I shouldn't have brought you here. Let's go."

He quickly stood and held his hand out to Gaara, but it wasn't taken. Gaara remained unmoving, sitting on the cold floor on his knees, staring at nothing. Neji knelt down and gently took Gaara's hand and lifted him up to his feet, off the hard floor. He led him to the back of the room where the door was and Gaara went with him, his pace slowing at every step. Gaara felt as though he was walking closer and closer to a reality of his worst nightmare. Memories struck him hard.

**Flashback (Gaara's voice 'narrating')**

_No one can hear me._

_Please stop._

_It's dark down there._

_Where's Kankurou?_

_I was bad._

_I don't want to go down there._

_Please don't make me go down there._

_Kankurou, please help me._

_Please don't take me back there._

_It's dark._

_I'll be good._

_Please don't tie me up._

_Stop daddy it hurts!_

_Kankurou!_

_I'll be good! I promise!_

_Daddy, you're hurting me!_

_I'm sorry! Please daddy!_

_Let me out! I'll be good I promise!_

_Don't leave me down here!_

_What did I do wrong?_

_I'm scare._

_I was bad._

_Please untie me._

_They hurt._

_Please untie me?_

_I promise I'll do better._

_I'm sorry Daddy._

**End flashback**

Gaara stopped walking altogether. He stood, rooted to the ground, shaking horribly. He didn't want to go any further. _Kankurou_ never came back here unless it was to get him out.

Neji turned back to him, a hand on the doorknob. One thing he was greatly gifted in was Ultimate Patience, as he had already mentioned. He waited for Gaara, talking to him in a reassuring voice. He could see Gaara's thoughts written all over his face, but, finally, he took Neji's hand with both of his as if it were his anchor and slowly stepped out of the house; eyes squeezed shut as if expecting to be struck at any moment.

He opened them as Neji quietly praised him and put his arm around his shoulders, leading him up the steps and off the property.

* * *

Haku was waiting for them on the bleachers by the soccer field when they got to the school. He ran up to them, braided hair bouncing at his back, and asked if they were both ok. Kankurou hadn't told him any details what-so-ever and all he knew was that something was wrong with Gaara that needed comfort, not questions. His suspicions were frighteningly close though he didn't know it.

Neji assured him that they were ok, but Gaara had returned to the way he had been acting in Kankurou's room, possibly worse. Very jumpy and clinging to the back of Neji's hoody, walking behind him. As he had been with Kankurou's bed, he didn't want to leave Neji, his object of security, but Haku, who was also blessed with patience (Neji suspected was from the thought of being with his crush) spoke gently and quietly to him, until he finally let Haku even come near him.

Haku took his hand and put his arm around him, gently rubbing his back. Even in his out-of-it state, Gaara recognized the comfort he found in Haku comforting embrace and finally let Neji go. He let Haku lead him over to the bleachers and sat with him in the shade of a tree as Neji went and talked to Genma. Haku had no idea what Neji was using as an excuse, but the man nodded and Neji went into the school, coming back out a few minutes later dressed for practice.

Before running out onto the field with his team mates, Neji stopped at the bleachers and stepped up to Gaara.

"Don't forget to call Kankurou ok?" he reminded him, smiling. Without thinking, spurred unconsciously by the moment, he leaned down and kissed Gaara's forehead before turning and falling in place with jogging.

Haku glared after him, eye twitching, but quickly brought his attention back to Gaara, who was staring blankly at the ground, so out of it, he hadn't even reacted to Neji's kiss. He put his arm around the smaller boy and pulled him close. Gaara sank into the comfort in them he found before. If it had been any other moment, Haku would have freaked and ran around the field with the soccer players squealing, but this was not the right moment. He took his cell phone out and held it out for Gaara.

"Come on, Gaara-chan," he cooed gently. "Don't you want to talk to your brother? Come on."

Gaara didn't move, just continued to stare blankly ahead. It frightened Haku. His eyes were the same ones he had seen in the mirror after his ordeal with Itachi, but deeper. Farther down in the pit then Haku had ever gone. It scared him; Gaara wasn't supposed to be that deep, he was to gentle and fragile to be that far down.

"Gaara-chan…?" Haku cooed again, slightly worried. "Come on…here." He turned the phone on for him and leaned forward so he could see his face. "No?"

Gaara didn't move.

"Ok...hold on."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the piece of paper with Kankurou's phone number on it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Kankurou? It's Haku."

"Oh, hey. Where are you?"

"I'm at school. Gaara's right here—who's that?" he asked as another voice sounded.

"It's a friend of mine. We were planning on going to see a movie this weekend," Kankurou said to who ever had spoken. "It's my dad," he added to Haku.

"Oh."

"Hang on." Haku waited as Kankurou must have gone somewhere so that his father couldn't hear him. "Sorry about that. Where's Gaara?"

"He's right here with me," Haku said, looking down at him. "But he's real quiet and shaking like a leaf. Poor thing," he said, making a teary face. "It breaks my heart to see him so upset!"

"Haku, please don't start acting weird," Kankurou said, a 'dot dot dot' face practically obvious over the phone.

"I'm sorry, but it's true!" Haku insisted. "He looks so depressed and he's not moving!"

Kankurou sighed. "Really?"

"You wanna talk to him?"

"Yeah."

"Ok. Hold on." Haku put the phone to Gaara's ear, but still got no reaction. "Gaara-chan, it's Kankurou," he said in a coaxing voice. "Talk to Kankurou, Gaara-chan."

"Gaara?"

At the sound of Kankurou's voice, Gaara snatched the phone from Haku and spoke frantically to his brother.

Not purposefully eavesdropping, but unable to not listen to at least Gaara's side of the conversation, Haku learned that Gaara hadn't wanted to leave the house in the first place. Something about making his father angry. He asked if Kankurou would come and take him home, but Kankurou seemed to say no. Actually, Haku knew he said no, he didn't have to see the disappointment on Gaara's face, Kankurou had asked him to take him to his house for the night at least. Gaara started protesting, but Kankurou seemed to have changed the subject. Haku could somewhat hear Kankurou on the other end. He was asking about the soccer players. Gaara lifted his head for the first time and looked around the field. He told Kankurou everything the soccer players (focusing mostly on Neji) were doing and each drill they were running through. Haku noticed that the more Gaara talked the more relaxed and normal he became. As he talked on, his voice became more cheerful and his words quicker and his stutter began to leave. Haku smiled slightly, new respect for Kankurou rising. The guy should be a psychiatrist or something.

After a long conversation, Gaara said bye to Kankurou and handed the phone to Haku.

"Hello?"

"I got to go now," Kankurou told him. "Just keep him talking and he'll be fine."

"Alright, bye." Haku put his phone away then turned back to Gaara who was now watching the players work on ball control, doing drills Neji had shown him at their first trip to the mall.

"Do you understand anything about this?" he asked, pointing at the field.

Gaara shook his head, dropping back into his previous state.

"I heard that Neji's really good."

"He is good!" Gaara insisted, finally looking up at him. "Neji's the best player from both teams combined!"

"Both teams?" Haku asked, feigning stupidity. "Isn't there only one?"

"The JV and Varsity," Gaara said. "They practice and warm up together, and sometimes do drills together, but usually they practice separately. Neji and Kiba are on the JV team."

"Do we know anyone on Varsity?" Haku asked looking around at the players.

"Just…Itachi…" Gaara said quietly, glancing at the tall Uchiha.

Haku's eyes burned. "Bastard," he muttered.

* * *

"Ok, I just want to get one thing straight here. I'm doing this as a favor as a friend. This is not a date, I'm sorry if you want it to be one but—"

"Ukon shut up," Sakkon said.

"Ok."

Temari gave the two twins an odd look as she sat in the window side of Sakkon's big red truck. The two had come up to her after school and said Kankurou went home early and he wanted them to take her out for an after school snack and then home. She understood the take home part, but why out for a snack that looked suspiciously like a date? She wanted to go home to Gaara and to Kankurou.

What was Kankurou planning?

* * *

"Hey Gaara, nice of you to join us," Genma said coming up to them. "You feeling better?"

Gaara shrugged slightly, still under the comfort of Haku's arm. "A little," he mumbled.

"Alright," Genma said, shrugging as well. "I'm glad you decided you wanted to join us at practice. Would you like to play with us?"

Gaara shook his head frantically.

"Why not?"

"I can't kick," Gaara told him in a muttering voice.

"Aw, it's not that hard," Genma said, taken aback at the thought of not being able to kick a ball. "Haku, you know how to kick a ball don't you?"

Haku held his hands up. "I kick a ball and fall flat on my face," he said.

Gaara stared at him. "You do?"

"Yeah, it's really funny," Haku said, sticking his hand behind his head.

Genma picked up a spare ball and tossed it to them. "I've never met anyone who can't actually kick a ball," he said, giving them a twitching look. "This will honestly bother me until I die. Go play with this, before I go crazy."

With that he turned and went back to change the drill to suicide runs (anyone who plays sports should know what this is and groan loudly at the thought (Shukaku: **GROAN**) You don't play sports… (Shukaku: **I've watched you run suicides. It looks painful**!)).

Haku stood, ball in hand and turned excitedly to Gaara.

"Come on! Let's play!" he hopped down the bleachers as Gaara got up and slowly stepped down off the bleachers. As he did, he looked up at Neji and met his eyes. Neji smiled at him and nodded encouragingly.

Haku set the ball down on the grass. "Watch. Ready?" he went to kick the ball, but missed it completely, his feet flying up from underneath him, causing him to land on his back.

Gaara stared, not expecting that at all, then started laughing, covering his mouth as he did to try and hide the fact that he was. This of course had been Haku's objective and he smiled as he sat up.

"See? I suck!" Haku said, crossing his arms and legs. He rolled the ball over to Gaara. "Your turn."

Gaara kicked at the ball, but his attempts sent the ball going a pathetic three feet away, no where near where he wanted it to go. Haku laughed at this as well, as Gaara chased after the ball. Gaara blushed, but shyly laughed as well. He sat on the grass a small distance away in front of Haku and tossed him the ball. They played the tossing game until Genma noticed them and came over to them, of course giving the lecture that in soccer you do not _toss _the ball, you _kick_ it. After he said this, they both got up and demonstrated their pathetic attempts to kick the ball, causing him to smack a hand over his face and groan loudly.

"We'll work on this," Genma said, motioning for Gaara to follow him. "Are you still up to helping me out this season?"

"Sure," Gaara replied.

"Good, cause I could use a good smart kid like you to help me out," Genma said, smiling and giving him a hearty pat on the back.

Gaara blushed darkly and mumbled something embarrassed but neither of them heard what he said.

"What?"

"I'm not smart…" Gaara said quietly. "I'm…I'm stupid."

Haku made noise that sounded like air blowing out of a balloon. "No, you're not! You're the smartest, cutest little redhead I have ever seen!" Haku said, wrapping his arms around Gaara's and jerking him into a glomp.

Gaara blushed even darker at his words and covered his face with his hands. This action however, only succeeded in making Haku squeal a little and hug him tighter, lifting him off the ground and swinging him in a little circle.

On the field, Neji bit his lip to hide his smile. He loved seeing Gaara interacting with other people like a normal teenager. And he looked so cute when he blushed like that. Last time he blushed like that was when he first kissed him, even if it was just on the cheek.

He was pulled back out of his thoughts as a ball came suddenly sailing in his direction as his partner in passing kicked the ball harder then he intended.

* * *

After practice was over, Haku drove Neji home to the Hyuga estate. The three said their good byes and the two boys watched until Neji closed the door behind him, then they drove off, back onto the street.

* * *

Temari and Ukon had come in to the house, hearing the argument before they even opened the door. Kankurou and their father were having a heated argument in the living room, shouting angrily at one another. When they walked in, her father glanced over at her.

"Where were you?"

"Um…sorry dad… I went to the deli to study with Ukon and his brother. We both have a big test coming up and we were helping each other," Temari said quickly, apologizing.

Her father gave her a hard stare then looked over at Ukon, who grinning somewhat stupidly and waved. He pointed to the sofa. "Sit there, I'll deal with you in a minute," he said, then continued his argument with Kankurou for another ten minutes.

The door opened again, causing all four heads to turn to the door as a fifth person stepped into the room. Silence followed instantly. Kankurou stared and Ukon glanced over at Kankurou then at his father. Gaara looked down at the floor.

"I'm sorry Dad," he said quietly. "I shouldn't have left. I came back so you would be worried or get mad."

Temari didn't move her head, but her eyes flashed over to Kankurou as she realized why he had asked Ukon and Sakkon to stall her trip home. Her eyes turned back to Gaara as their father moved. Gaara swallowed hard as his father slowly approached him. Instead of lashing out or yelling at him, thought, he placed a hand on Gaara's ruffled hair, but Gaara flinched anyway.

"Good boy," he said, smiling almost fondly at him. "I'm proud of you."

Ukon and Sakkon, who had followed Gaara in unnoticed, both turned in unison from Gaara to Kankurou, seeing both of their reactions. Gaara's face lit up and a smile broke out over his face, eyes shining happily. A cloud of anger and a look of disbelief passed over Kankurou's face, but both twins also saw jealousy in the cloud and glanced at each other.

"What are these?" their father asked, looking down at the folder of papers in his hand.

"Genma-sensei asked me to go over these and fill them out for him cause I'm his helper…and all," Gaara replied, holding the folder out.

"We'll look at them while we're waiting for dinner," his father said, leading him into the kitchen.

Temari immediately bustled about the kitchen, refusing the help Gaara offered. She washed the dishes and then quickly began making dinner.

* * *

Kankurou was silent as he watched his family enter the kitchen. He watched Gaara happily open the folder and begin showing their father the things he was supposed to do. Kankurou clenched and unclenched his fists in anger. The two twins watched him for a moment, then Sakkon gave Ukon a nudge with his elbow and Ukon stood up and asked Kankurou to come outside with him. They stood out on the porch and Ukon pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, lighting it before speaking.

"Seems your dad was pretty pleased birthday boy came home," he said casually, blowing out.

"No shit," Kankurou snapped. "That means to him that a) Gaara didn't tell anyone, b) he can still have something to beat on when he's pissed or drunk and c) he knows Gaara's still terrified of him and _my_ plan went down the drain," Kankurou yelled angrily.

"Yeah, but at least he's safe."

"No, he's not!" Kankurou insisted. "It's just an act! It'll last another day or two then everything will go back to normal! Gaara's just too _stupid_ to see that!"

"Kankurou, why are you so obsessed with helping your brother?" Ukon asked casually, flicking ashes away.

"He's my brother, you asshole!" Kankurou said angrily.

"Look, just hear me out before I come to my senses," Ukon said, his mellow voice, only heard when he wasn't high, droned, as he gestured at his cigarette. "I was thinking. See, I know that if my parents were picking on Sakkon—my baby bro—I'd get help, like, right away. Even if I grew up watching it happen and was scared, the moment I had proof I'd turn them in. That's what I thought. And then I tried to put myself in your shoes and wondered why you're always helping your brother get through this rough stuff, but you never turn your dad in. Then I thought of something. I didn't like it, but I thought about it a lot and….I think it's true."

He took a large puff of his cigarette and let it out slowly.

"I think, the reason you try so hard to help little birthday boy, is cause you know how he feels. I mean, you_ know_ how he feels and you understand completely why he came home tonight. And that's why you're mad he did."

He paused and let the words sink in. Kankurou was staring at him, eyes wide and mouth open.

"I'm guessing…that when you all were little, it wasn't baby bro who was getting the brunt of daddy's anger. Birthday boy just don't remember that part of the story."

He waited for Kankurou to respond, but the boy was now staring at the ground.

"That's why you're mad at him, cause you did the same thing when you were in his shoes."

He took one last long breath of his cigarette then put it out on the sole of his boot and tossed it into the trashcan.

"See? I'm a good friend," he said with his dumb grin. "I'm right, aren't I? That's why? You know…you should tell Gaara this—"

"Ukon, please…stop," Kankurou said, his breath coming out in controlled rasps as he continued to stare at the ground.

Ukon smiled and put his hand on Kankurou's shoulder. "I'll stop, but I want you to know: I'm here for you and I'm willing to listen, so'll Sakkon. Don't blame little birthday boy, 'kay?"

He opened the front door and called Sakkon out. The two left, driving off towards their house.

Kankurou sat down on the porch and placed his head in his hands.

'_Oh, God…'_

* * *


	17. Playing Ball

**Vindicated**

Chapter 17: Playing Ball

* * *

**Dragon man 180: **XP hee! That's where I got the idea. I just had a funny image of Haku doing something totally stupid to get Gaara to laugh and was like ha Charlie Brown…

**Junsui Kegasu: **nyah! New stories are always over protected. Yay for getting it this time ha! I'd forgotten u hadn't gotten it the first go round. Sure u can marry the fic (sweat drop) go right ahead….

**Chinese Fairy: **ah…the thing about the GaaraNeji scenes is that I had already posted like…19 chapters of Vindicated then it got taken off for reasons I still don't understand, I'm adding little bits to each chapter to make them better (looks at chapters coming up) oh there'll be a bit of NejiGaa moments in the near future hakuna matata (just watched lion king ½)

**K-bob: **(whine) oooh! I can answer that for u yet! Don't worry he explains it to Kankurou later I promise!

**Shinobi Gaara of the Sand: **hit u hard why darling? Just not expecting it? I still think it odd that no one really expected it…no one was expecting it the first go round either…(dot face) though I did not get my surprise I did read it and I love it and I canna wait for more! (glomp u smexy!)

**Ebony: **ah…got a bit of news…everything that's happened (almost everything) are actually true stories…isn't that horrible? Some I've read in books that were based on true stories, some I've read online and other's I got from either personal experiences or from friends who have abusive parents… I'll tone it down though…(remembers something)…for the next few chapters…

**Telly: **was the Haku thing ok? I thought of it after I posted it (like a while after I posted it) and I was like …why could Haku hate Itachi? He can't just hate him cause of what he did to Gaara…then this horrible thought popped in my head and I'm like….gr….damn u itachi… and there u go

* * *

Kyu never considered herself a person who worried a lot. Nor did she consider herself a stalker. She was a sensible person. But it was now Tuesday and Kankurou hadn't been to school since last Monday. As the bell rang signaling the end of first period, she turned as she got up and glanced, concerned, at his empty seat. She spent the entire day thinking about him. In between one of her classes, she happened to see Kankurou's little brother walking to his class. She hadn't been able to stop and ask him anything because the bell had rung.

In her seventh period yearbook class, she sat in front of her computer, unable to concentrate on the article about the soccer team she was writing. Finally, she got up and told her teacher she was going to get quotes. She ran to the office and asked for a class.

* * *

Asuma paused in explaining a math equation as a knock sounded at his door. His students all perked up and whispered to one another. Quieting them down, he went and opened the door, speaking momentarily to the knocker. 

"Gaara," he called.

Gaara looked up, surprised at his name being called. Around him, his classmates whispered and jeered, wanting to know what he had done. Now nervous and fearful he hurried to the door, avoiding eye contact by staring at the floor.

"She wants to talk to you," Asuma said, nudging him out the door.

Gaara stared at Kyu who was standing in the hall with a small notebook. She was smiling at him and it eased his nervousness.

"Hi," she said as Asuma closed the door. She leaned forward and whispered. "I'm supposed to be interviewing you but I just want to ask you something."

"Ok," Gaara said, confused.

They sat down on the floor, leaning against the lockers and Kyu settled down taking a deep breath.

"Um…I wanted to ask about Kankurou," Kyu said. "Is he ok?"

Gaara face changed instantly. His confused expression went to a nervous one, eyes widened and quickly darting down to the floor, his hand went to his mouth where he chewed on his finger. He looked scared, but worried as well, as if he was doing something wrong.

"It's ok," she assured him, continuing to smile encouragingly. "You can tell me, come on."

"I—I don't…know," he finally stammered.

"Why not? He's your brother isn't he? You must see each other at home," Kyu said.

"I…I know…I use to see him…a lot. I—I'd always stay in his room with him," Gaara said. "But he won't let me in anymore. He yells at me to go away all the time."

"Why's that?" Kyu asked, concerned.

"I—I don't know. I—I did something bad and now he's mad at me," he mumbled. "I haven't seen him come out of his room since last Monday."

"Not even to come out and eat?"

Gaara shook his head.

"Not even to say he's not going to school?"

Gaara shook his head again.

"Is he still alive in there?" Kyu asked, not meaning to joke.

Gaara nodded. "He always has his music on and he changes CDs every once and a while, but he wont even open the door or answer for Temari when she calls him," he said, hanging his head. "He yells me to go away when I knock."

"Oh, dear…I'm sorry," Kyu said, kindly, seeing how upset he was on the subject. She placed an arm around his shoulders, but he flinched and moved away. _'Doesn't like physical contact…'_ she mused mentally. She realized that before Gaara would be close to being comfortable with her, she'd have to work on his trust first.

Reaching into her purse, she pulled out a candy bar and held it out to him. "Do you like Milky Ways?" she asked.

Gaara eyed the candy bar hungrily then turned and shook his head.

"Aren't you hungry?" she asked. "Lunch usually isn't enough for me. Did you eat lunch?"

Gaara didn't answer. Then, barely noticeable, he shook his head.

"You haven't eaten?" she said worriedly. "Why not?" At Gaara's shrug, she continued. "When was the last time you ate?"

"T—Tuesday…" Gaara said quietly, not looking at her.

"You ate today?" she asked happily. Gaara shook his head. "No? You mean you—… You haven't eaten in a week?" she cried. "Oh my god…why not?"

Gaara winced at her desperate voice. He hadn't thought, or remembered to eat out of depression, though he hadn't thought of it that way. Kankurou had never completely ignored him before and it was eating him up inside. When he had realized he was hungry, his father refused to feed him, and told him that if he found anything missing from the kitchen that he would be punished. He didn't take anything from the kitchen and spent every day after school sitting outside Kankurou's room until his father came home, then he stayed with Temari. But he just sank deeper into depression, insomnia keeping him up at all times.

"Here, puppy, eat this," she said, holding out the candy bar.

"P—puppy?" Gaara glanced over at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Please?" she asked, unwrapping it for him and holding it out.

Gaara took it gingerly and nibbled at it, glancing at her unsure. His hunger took the best of him though and he ate it, starving. Kyu smiled proudly at him and pulled her purse out again.

"I have a bag of cookies will you eat them?" she asked, hopefully, pulling the bag out.

"Why are you giving me this?" Gaara asked quietly.

"Cause you're hungry!" she cried. "Any decent person would give you food. Here. Eat it…please!"

She shoved the bag of cookies into his hands and sat back and watched as he ate them, hesitantly at first then started stuffing them in his mouth.

"Um…so…you stay after school with the soccer team right?"

Gaara looked up, his mouth full and nodded.

"But you're not on the soccer team, how did you manage that?" she asked, whipping out a pen.

Gaara swallowed then replied. "Um…I went to the try outs once, but just to watch and Genma-sensei asked me if I wanted to come every practice and help him out," he replied, confused at the sudden change of subject.

"What kind of things do you help him out with?" she asked, scribbling.

"What ever he wants me to do," Gaara said. She gave him a pointed look and he continued. "Like, I type stuff out on the computer for him, and review plays and watch the player to make sure they get stuff right."

"So you're sorta like his assistant and manager, right?"

"….I guess."

"Is that fun?"

"Yeah," Gaara replied. "I like watching them play and sometimes Genma tries to get me to play, but I'm not that good."

"Oh, I'm sure you're a _little_ good."

"No," Gaara said shaking his head and eating another cookie. "I really suck actually."

"What's your favorite thing they do?" she asked.

"I like watching lifting," Gaara said. "That's when you dribble the ball with yourself and not let it touch the ground."

"Have you tried it?"

"Yeah, it's really hard. I've only gotten up to two," he admitted.

"That's still good; I don't think I could do even one."

"Why do you want to know about soccer?" Gaara asked.

"I'm doing an article in the yearbook about the team. I've been hearing about a freshman that isn't on the team, but goes to practice everyday and did a little investigating. I was surprised that it was you," she said smiling.

"I—if you go to room 309…that's Neji and Kiba's class," he said quietly. "They're on the team."

"Thank you," she said, smiling wider. "I'll go talk to them. Thanks, puppy, eat those cookies!" she called as she left, heading towards the up stairwell.

Gaara stared after her, the now half empty cookie bag still in his hand. _'Puppy?…'_

* * *

The house was quiet as Temari and Kyu stepped out of Kyu's blue car. Determined to learn more, Kyu had caught up with Temari and offered to drive her home. Temari told her as she began mounting the stairs to Kankurou's room that she didn't think he'd let her in, but she went anyway. Temari shook her head and left her book bag under the coat rack then left again to go to her new boyfriend's house.

She knocked a few times and waited. When no one answered, she knocked again. "Kankurou, its Kyu, please open the door," she said.

Still there was no answer. She knocked harder and harder until the picture handing on the wall behind her shook. As she knocked, she shouted and yelled at the door, demanding entrance. But none was granted her. She stood back fuming, thinking it over then stomped down stairs and out the back door. When she was a good fifteen feet from the house, she turned and looked back, staring at Kankurou's window. Noticing a large tree that grew near it, she grinned and climbed it. She moved carefully across the branch near his window and looked in, rapping loudly as she did so.

Kankurou was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling and listening to his stereo. When she knocked on the window he turned and jumped, falling off his bed in the process. She giggled to herself as he got up and came over to the window.

"What are you _doing_?" he demanded, throwing the window open.

"Chillin' in a tree," she replied, holding onto the branches. "But I demand entrance to your hovel," she said with a pouting and glaring expression. "If you don't, I will let go and fall to my death and you will have the guilt with you for the rest of your life!"

Kankurou gave her a funny look then thought for a minute, a mental war raging. This of course, pissed Kyu off.

"You have to think about it?" she screeched, nearly falling from her freak out.

"Kyu, I don't think you want to come in here, it's real messy," Kankurou said.

"So I've heard," she said. "You know what else I heard? I heard you haven't come out of your room since last Monday so I bet it stinks a little too, but I still wanna come in and talk to you!"

Kankurou stared and raised an eye brow. He opened the window as much as it could and leaned out, bracing himself against his desk. Kyu let him wrap his arms around her and she clutched him as he pulled her out of the tree onto his windowsill. She swung her legs inside his room and put them safely on the floor. She smiled at Kankurou who was giving her a weird look.

"What?"

"Kyu, you climbed that tree in a mini skirt and strap on shoes," he said, pointing.

Kyu glanced down at her dark red outfit and blushed. "Oops," she said, in a cutesy voice.

Kankurou sat down on his unmade bed and looked at her. "What do you want?" he asked, after a sigh.

"To see what's wrong," she said. "You haven't been to school in a whole week! Why is it so dark in here?"

"I like the dark," he replied.

"I don't," she said. She opened the window blinds all the way and turned his lights on. He groaned at this and told her to turn them off. She shook her head and turned back to him, gasping. "Kankurou! What happened to you?"

He instantly turned his face away from her as she came up to him, worried. "Nothing … got in a fight," he mumbled.

She reached out and touched the bruises on his cheek and black eye. "With who?" she asked. "….And what?" she added, noticing marks on his neck and arms as well.

"Just…some…guys."

"Are you lying to me?" she asked.

Kankurou didn't answer.

She gave him a worried look, then changed the subject. "I talked to Gaara today," she said.

"Stalker," he muttered.

"I am not a stalker!" she cried. "I was _concerned_."

"What'd you talk about?" he asked, not looking at her.

"I was interviewing Puppy about the soccer team," she said huffily.

'_Puppy?'_ Kankurou thought.

"But Kankurou…why are you mad at him?"

"How did that come up in an interview about soccer?" he asked.

"Don't change the subject," she said. "I asked him about you and he told me that you've been in your room since last Monday and he thinks you're mad at him."

"News flash, Kyu," Kankurou said, gruffly. "Gaara always thinks someone's mad at him."

"Why's that?"

"Cause he's stupid like that, I don't know," he replied. "He just does it for attention, anyway."

"Kankurou, that's not very nice," Kyu said softly, her hands on her hips differentiating her tone. "He's really upset!"

"It's true!" he said.

"So? That doesn't mean you have to tell others you think like that," she said. "Do you really think he just wants attention from me? Cause honestly, I'd give it to him anyway…and I don't think it's me he wants attention from."

"He wants it from me, I know that," he said grumpily. "I'm just not giving it to him."

"Why are you in such a bad mood?" she asked, crossing her arms.

He shrugged. "I donno, … I'm sorry," he replied.

"Don't apologize to me," she said, coming up to him. "What happened?" she asked, sitting on the bed next to him, placing a caring hand on his knee.

He never knew why he did, but at her question, he spilled his thoughts he'd wanted to spill to someone—_anyone_—to her, telling her everything. About his father, about Gaara, about trying to help Gaara run away and his coming back. He told her that his father had praised Gaara's return, and had left him alone since and the real reason why, and he told her about his conversation with Ukon. By the time he was finished, his face and lap was soaked from tears and Kyu was sitting next to him on the bed with her arms wrapped around him. Her head was leaning on his shoulder and she was gently rubbing his back.

"You didn't get in a fight?" she asked softly.

Kankurou shook his head. "Dad left Gaara alone…cause…he was…" He didn't finish as he reached up and touched his face.

Kyu sniffed herself and held him tighter, burying her face. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, trying to keep her voice even. They sat it silence like that for a while. Kyu broke it as she sighed. "Do you want something? You look like you haven't eaten in a while."

"I haven't," he mumbled.

"Neither has Gaara, you know," she said quietly.

"What?" he asked, looking up at her, with a frown.

"He hadn't eaten since last Tuesday," she said. "I'm not sure, but I think he was depressed, cause he thinks you're really mad at him."

"Last … _Tuesday_?" Kankurou cried, a look of worried disbelief plastered on his face. "…shit…"

"I'll go make you something ok?" Kyu got up and went to the door.

"Kyu?" Kankurou called, stopping her. "Was he ok?"

"I think so," she said. "I mean…he ate what I gave him, and I told Neji to give him something to eat at practice."

"…." Kankurou looked down at his floor with a worried frown.

She gave him a reassuring smile before hurrying down the stairs to the kitchen.

* * *

She found everything she wanted and proceeded to make a large stack of sandwiches, enough for both of them to share. She took her time because she heard Kankurou come out of his room and get in the shower. She smiled to herself, wrinkling her nose.

'_Good,'_ she thought. She didn't want to be mean, but she had noticed he did kinda smell.

Finishing with the sandwiches, she poured them both tall glasses of soda from the fridge and took the plate and glasses up to Kankurou's room. She set them down on his desk and looked around.

It looked like a room that use to be well kept and neat that had seriously gone down the dumps, there were clothes everywhere on the floor along with book and magazines that had been thrown at the book case. There was just a lot of _stuff_ on the floor. She didn't mind though, she went about and straightened it, tossing the dirty clothes in a pile on the floor and put the books and such back on the shelves. She reopened the window Kankurou had closed and aired out the room, then turned and made his bed. She noticed on his end table two picture frames that had been placed face down so that the pictures couldn't be seen.

She lifted the first one and looked at it. It was a picture of the three siblings. They were sitting on a bench in a park, that didn't seem to be much of a park, but she remembered that the three of them were from a desert area so that was the reason there was no grass or trees. She smiled back at them, but it faded slightly as she examined each of their faces. She saw sadness in each of them, and pain of hiding pain. Gaara had that shy smile on his face he gave when he hoped to be over-looked, not wanting to be noticed. His clothes looked very old, worn and too big for him. Temari's smile was wide and happy, but her eyes were still sad, her clothes were much nicer then Gaara's and Kankurou's were. Kankurou sat in between them, his arms draped across the back of the bench, his siblings leaning in against him. He was giving her a fifteen year old bad boy grin that made her smile widen. But it saddened again when she saw his eyes. Temari's eyes were sad, but his were near complete depression. She noticed how he seemed to not just be sitting with them for a picture; he seemed to be almost protecting them, especially Gaara who was closer to his brother then Temari was, nearness making them both feel safe.

She placed the picture down and picked up the other one. She only glanced at this one before putting it back down. It was a family picture. One with their father in it, but she didn't want to see it just yet. Kankurou came back in the room, drying his hair, now dressed in new clothes. He glanced around the room then thanked her.

"You're welcome," she said smiling. "I made you sandwiches!" she said proudly, holding up the platter. "I wasn't sure what you liked so I made all kinds and I shaped them too!"

"…." Kankurou looked down at them and raised an eye brow. "…o….k…"

"Try them! They're good!" she said, stuffing one in his mouth.

* * *

"B-but I don't want—"

"Why is that?"

"Cause I-I c-can't kick," Gaara stammered, straining against Genma's grip.

"You'll never get good unless you practice," the coach said, effortlessly keeping him from running away. "Just try. We're short some people anyway."

"But…I don't..."

"What are you afraid of?" Genma asked.

"I'm not afraid. But...they'll laugh at me…I'm really not good," Gaara insisted quietly.

"No they won't!" Genma assured him. "And if they do, just beat 'em up. Or Neji'll beat them up. Either one will be quite effective."

"I can't beat them up!" Gaara said, staring.

"…why not?"

"Cause they're like this tall," he held his hand way over his head, "and I'm like this tall," he put his hand lower to the ground, notable smaller then he really was.

"Height doesn't matter, you know," Genma said, chuckling to himself.

"It's a great advantage!"

"True. But you don't need to be tall to play games like this," Genma said. He pointed out in the field where the players were playing five on five's. "See that kid? He's the shortest player on my entire team. He's five two, but one of the fastest players I got. He's a starter on varsity. Been with me for four years."

"…but he's really athletic. I'm only four foot seven! I'm little and puny and I'm not very strong," Gaara said after he looked at the player.

"Yes, I can see that," Genma said, still using no effort to make him stay with him. "If you really don't want to play on the field, you could be GK for us today."

"I don't wanna be a goal keeper either! You get hit with balls!"

"They don't hurt—"

"Yes, they do! Neji goes home with bruises all the time!"

"Does he complain about it?"

"No, he's an obsessed soccer freak, he doesn't care, but some people don't like getting hit with soccer balls and falling on the ground."

"What are you trying to say, kid?"

"I'm not going to be a soccer obsessed freak like you and Neji," Gaara said. It was a moment for arm crossing, but Genma still had a grip on his arm, so he just looked huffily at him. He couldn't believe he was talking to an adult like this without getting punished, but he couldn't stress enough how much he did not want to play.

"You don't have to be," Genma said, smiling. "I'm not trying to make you one. I just noticed that you're not very healthy and I'd like it if you were, and playing might help you out a bit. It's fun too, you must get bored watching all the time."

Gaara grumbled to himself, but relaxed. Genma let him go as he moved over to the goal box. He stood there, arms crossed, looking pissed and nervous at the same time. "What do I do?" he asked.

Genma looked overjoyed and followed him, explaining what he had to do, and reminding him that the ball wouldn't hurt him. Kiba was on the team he was helping—though he had no idea how he was going to help—and came up to him, excited.

"Look, just follow the ball," Kiba told him, making motions with his hands. "The other team will move their feet around to try and trick you, but you just gotta watch the ball."

Gaara said nothing, only making a small unsure noise voicing that he was still unsure of what he was doing.

Genma whistled for the five-on-five game to start. He watched each player, noting their strengths and weaknesses, deciphering positions each might be able to try out for. He had chosen this five-on-five carefully. With the exception of Gaara, each of the players were evenly matched and no one had gotten near either of the goals yet. But then one broke away from the rest and the ball was passed to him. Genma noted how well he handled the ball as he approached the goal box. He kicked the ball towards the goal it sailed straight at an opening, a perfect shot, moving quickly only 3 inches from the ground.

Genma stared, as did the other players for a moment, then Kiba cheered loudly and they other players joined in, then fell back waiting. Gaara stared as well. The ball was in his hands and he was on the ground. Genma called for him to throw it back out into the field. Gaara hurriedly stood and threw the ball as far as he could towards an open space where Kiba met it dribbling it down to the other end of the shortened field.

"Neji, did you see that?" Soccer player #4 said.

Neji looked up from where he was chugging down his water. "What?" he asked after swallowing.

#4 pointed towards the field where the newest newbies were playing their own five-on-fives. The team Kiba was on just scored a goal and one of the players was bringing it to the middle.

"They scored? So what?"

"No, no! Before that. Your boy-toy just threw himself on the ground and caught a 3 inch floater," #2, who had seen it too, said.

Neji did a double take and this time saw Gaara in the goal watching the ball get passed back and forth keenly. "What's Gaara doing in the goal box?" he asked.

"Must be short some people," #4 said. "Coach has been trying to get him to play with us since he started coming, but I've never actually seen him play."

"He doesn't like sports," Neji said absentmindedly.

Neji watch a moment longer, smiling proudly at Gaara as the smaller boy jumped to catch another attempt at a goal. He and Kiba had been called out of class by Kyu for an interview. She asked them a bunch of questions and took notes, then thanked them. Before he could go back in, Kyu had stopped him and spoke to him quietly about her concerns for Gaara. Neji had been shocked to learn that the boy hadn't eaten in a week, he himself barely making it from one meal to another. Before going down to the gym he led Gaara to the cafeteria vending machines and ordered him to choose at least ten things he wanted. Gaara had stared at him and told him he didn't want Neji giving him money, but Neji persisted and they walked away with a wide variety of mostly healthy items that he made Gaara eat, watching him keenly until it was all gone.

His smile widened as he watched Gaara save another, smiling broadly himself as he threw the ball back into play.

* * *

Kankurou flopped down on his bed, full of sandwiches and soda. Kyu giggled and stuffed the last of hers in her mouth, then laid down as well.

"Thanks, Kyu," Kankurou said, smiling at her.

"Aw…you're welcome," she said, snuggling up to him. "You don't look so pathetically hungry anymore."

Kankurou gave a dry chuckle. "I don't feel hungry anymore either. I'm stuffed."

"Good."

"Thanks for coming over, too," he said quietly. "I feel a lot better now."

"Are you gonna talk to Gaara when he gets home?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Yeah…I don't think I'll tell him everything…but I'll tell him…well, I don't really know what I'll tell him," Kankurou said shrugging.

"Why did you put those pictures face down?" Kyu asked.

"Hm…I guess I _was_ kinda mad at Gaara," Kankurou murmured. "I was tired of seeing him. Especially like that…"

"Like what?"

"Smiling like that. I think he's forgotten how to smile without looking scared."

"Oh…" Kyu looked sadly at the wall for a moment. "What about the other one?"

Kankurou scoffed and reached over, picking the picture up. He held it up for Kyu to see. She looked at it now, examining the picture.

Kankurou looked about six in the picture, which meant Temari was five and Gaara was three. Kankurou and Temari were holding Gaara while their father was kneeling behind them. Their father was smiling and the three of them were laughing. Careless. Painless. Real smiles.

"What's wrong with this one? Is it your dad?" Kyu asked.

"No…it's the memory of it," Kankurou murmured. "Stuff happened afterwards. See, he wanted one that was like a serious picture, but for reasons I can't remember Temari and I couldn't stop laughing and that made Gaara unable to stop laughing and he got mad at us."

"Oh…sorry."

"Not your fault," Kankurou said. "You—"

Kyu looked up as Kankurou stopped talking and listened to something. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Oh, shit," Kankurou got up quickly and stuffed the almost empty plate and two cups under his bed. He quickly glanced around the room, as if searching for something out of place then suddenly remembered Kyu was there. "Come on!"

He took her arm and pulled her out of the room, grabbing her purse for her on the way out. He pulled her down stairs, but they only made it three quarters of the way down before the front door opened and his father stepped in, freezing him in his tracks.

* * *

"No."

"Aw, come on. You're doing so well!"

"No."

"Please?"

"What part of 'no' do you not understand?"

"The 'no' part."

"I don't want to," Gaara said, folding his arms. "I'll look stupid." He turned and trudged back to the bleacher, leaving Genma standing by the field.

Neji, hurried after Gaara, deciding to back his coach up, who was practically begging on his hands and knees for his little redhead to play. He stopped Gaara as he reached the tree near the bleachers.

"Gaara," Neji said, stepping in front of him, placing hands on his shoulders. "Where're you going?"

"To sit down," he replied.

"Why? Aren't you having fun?" Neji asked, starting to brush the boy's clothes, covered in grass and stains. He laughed at this. "You're a mess."

"I fell," Gaara said, pointing.

"More like dove head first into the ground," Neji said. "Caught the ball and everything. I heard, but didn't see your first one though. I saw the others though, good job!"

Gaara blushed darkly. "But…I don't want to play," he stammered out. "Genma—"

"Coach," Neji corrected automatically.

"Coach…wants me to play on the field!" Gaara said. "I can't do that!"

"Sure you can," Neji said.

"No I can't!" Gaara said, near shrieking

"Why not?"

"Cause I can't kick a ball!" Gaara said for what felt like the fiftieth time that day. "I didn't want to be the GK, but I did it and I'm really tired now. Isn't that good enough?"

"Why can't you kick a ball?" Neji asked.

Gaara stood back for a moment. "I've never done it before," he said finally. "I did it last week and all with Haku…but it went all funny. And I tried when you all were changing and he was right I can't."

"Who was right?" Neji asked, frowning slightly.

Gaara froze. "N-no one," he said, eyes wide.

"Gaara…" Neji gave him a look. "Who told you you can't kick a ball?"

"I'm too clumsy and stu—"

"Gaara!"

"My dad!"

Neji stepped back and stared. "Your dad said you …can't kick …a ball?" he asked in a soft voice.

"I'm too stupid to kick a ball," Gaara mumbled, repeating the familiar words repeated to him. "I'm not smart enough."

"You don't have to be smart to kick a ball!" Neji insisted. "You dad is an ass Gaara, why do you believe everything he tells you?"

Gaara hung his head, avoiding Neji's eyes. "I donno…" his mumble was barely audible.

"Do you think you're stupid?" Neji asked.

Gaara shrugged. "I donno…no…yes…maybe…I'm sorry…"

"It's ok, Gaara, I'm not mad at you," Neji said, reaching out to touch his arm. "If you really have to be smart to kick a ball, I think you're a genius."

Gaara glanced up shyly at him. "But…I'm still not good at it…"

"Which proves you don't have to be smart," Neji said smiling. "It just takes practice. I'll teach you. You may be a little clumsy, but we can work around that."

"Hey, love birds! Quit kissing behind the tree and get over here! Let's play!"

Neji turned giving the speaker an evil death glare as Gaara's eyes widened and he ducked behind him. He saw immediately why he had. Itachi stood at the edge of the field, ball in hand, laughing at them.

"Go screw yourself in hell, Uchiha," he said, glaring.

"Ooh! Nice come back, Hyuga," Itachi said sarcastically. "I have a better idea. How about I screw him instead, since you're obviously not up to it."

"Touch him and die," Neji said coldly, turning to face him fully.

"Ooh…scary. How about I teach him how to play since you're so busy sucking up to Coach?" He stepped up to them sneering.

"I don't want him to teach me," Gaara said quietly, behind him, shaking from Itachi's reminders of what happened at the mall.

"Why not?" Itachi said, glancing around Neji. "You already know how good I am at giving favors, this is just another one."

"You just don't know when to stop do you?" Neji said angrily, stepping up to him as well.

"And you don't know how to start," Itachi said, as they faced down.

Gaara stared from one to the other, scared out of his mind. The two looked ready to take each other out. The players on the field saw what was happening and gathered around anticipating it as well. The two boys stared each other down, daring the other to make the first move. Itachi suddenly leaned forward and whispered something in Neji's ear that only he could hear.

"Doesn't it just _piss_ you off that _I_ kissed him first?"

Neji snapped and punched him square in the jaw, knocking him back onto the ground. Itachi laid there for a minute, dazed and quite surprised Neji actually hit him, but he got up fast and countered. Soon the two were on the ground, kicking and punching, trying to rip each other's throats out. The watching players shouted and cheered them on unable to resist the aspect of a fight. What was thrilling everyone there was that Neji, an underclassman, was getting the upper hand of Itachi, a senior, a well renowned street fighter. Gaara, however, looked positively terrified, and stared at them, worried for Neji, until he was accidentally pushed aside.

It would have been broken up a while before, but Genma was having trouble getting through the crowd. When he finally did, he put his whistle to his mouth and, grabbing the boys by the back of their necks, pulled them apart, letting the whistle scream.

"KNOCK IT OFF!" he shouted, causing all the noise to stop. "EVERYONE LINE UP ONTO THE FIELD! VARSITY ON THEIRS AND JV ON THEIRS! NOW!"

The boys all scrambled to the field and lined up, save for Itachi and Neji, who were still in Genma's grasp. Both were bleeding and gasping for breath. Gaara stared at the three, shaking slightly at the expressions on all three of their faces. He watched as Genma let them go, shoving them in different directions.

"Both of you get to your fields," Genma said glaring. As they turned and went with their team mates, Genma turned to both teams. "This is ridiculous! Watching a fight is just as bad as fighting. You all look like a bunch of sissies after a cat fight! This is your punishment, and I don't want to hear a _single_ complaint: we will run suicides for the rest of practice. On my whistle."

* * *

"What's this?" his father's voice was icy cold.

"This is Kyu," Kankurou said quietly. "She's my classmate and she came to see if I was alright."

"And are you alright?"

"Yes, sir…"

"I suggest you leave," his father said to Kyu who was standing worried behind Kankurou. "No one is allowed to come over without my permission, especially when they are punished."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," Kyu said. She took her purse from Kankurou and slinked around them. "Sorry sir. Bye Kankurou," she said quietly before going out the door.

The door clicking shut was the only sound made. They heard her car start and pull away, the noise dying quietly away. His father stared him down, but Kankurou stared back. Both glares were intense enough to but the other to ashes.

* * *

Gaara climbed out of Hiashi's black convertible and grabbed his bag. He thanked Hiashi for the ride, then leaned over to hug Neji. Neji leaned over the protesting Hanabi and returned it. The fight had left Neji with a few bruises, a nose bleed and a sore side, and a three game suspension, but Neji told Gaara that it was worth it to flatten Itachi, who, in Gaara's opinion had gotten worse then Neji. Gaara had watched him practically stagger across the field during the suicide runs, then limp away back to the lockers after practice, feeling oddly satisfied. After Neji got his stuff, they met Hiashi at the parking lot. Genma spoke to Hiashi for a few minutes then Hiashi drove them home, a solemn expression plastered on his face. Neji had apologized to Hiashi for fighting, but Hiashi just said, keeping his solemn face:

"About time someone knocked that bastard down."

They had laughed at this and Hiashi's grave expression dropped and he laughed as well.

Gaara climbed up to his porch and waved goodbye as Hiashi pulled away and out of his driveway in the direction of the Hyuga estate. He turned back to the house and opened the door, shouting immediately greeted him, but it wasn't directed at him.

His father was standing in the living room, a firm grip on Kankurou's arm, repeatedly kicking his side, shouting angrily at him. Gaara froze and stared wide eyed, scared as his father turned, noticing him.

"Oh, it's you. Why the hell are you so dirty?" his father demanded, angrily.

Gaara tried to reply, but his mouth was working just as well as the rest of him and he could only stare. Kankurou looked up and saw him. Seeing him, seemed to worry him as he coughed then looked Gaara in the face.

"Gaara, go upstairs," Kankurou said, evenly, not wanting Gaara to get mixed up in this as well.

"No," their father shouted. "He doesn't need you codling him all the time! He should learn the truth! You! Get over here!" he motioned angrily at Gaara, who stayed where he was a moment.

"No, Gaara," Kankurou groaned. "Please, go upstairs."

"Boy, you better get your ass over here right now!"

They watched him hesitate then take a few unsure steps towards them. Patience dying, his father reached out and grabbed him by the back of his shirt and dragged him to the ground in front of Kankurou.

"See brat? Your precious brother isn't so great now is he? He's been lying to you your whole life, he's not really brave and strong. He's a pathetic wimp and sissy just like you. At least I tell you the truth."

Neither brother could look the other in the face. Gaara squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip as his father pressed his face further towards his brother's.

"That's not true. You lied to me."

"What?" his father demanded, shaking him so hard he nearly fell completely to the ground. Gaara bit his lip harder and didn't say anything else. "Answer!" He shouted, digging his fist in the back of Gaara's neck.

"You—you said I was too stupid to play ball!" Gaara stammered out. "I played today and I was good!"

"Like hell you were good!" his father said, grabbing a fist full of hair instead, forcing Gaara's face upwards, ignoring the crying protests. "They probably felt sorry for you and went easy! You're just to self centered to realize it!" he threw him backwards towards the front door again. Gaara landed with a sound thump on the hard wood floor, clutching his head where his father had had a grip of his hair. He curled up in a tiny ball, expecting more, but his father just yelled at him. "Get upstairs, now!"

The two watched as Gaara scrambled to his feet and went up stairs. After hearing a door upstairs close, their father turned back to Kankurou and began pounding him into the floor again, shouting angrily about Gaara now.

Fifteen minutes later, Kankurou staggered up the stairs to his room. He made sure he closed it all the way and locked it, before blindly going over to his bed, cursing as he stumbled and fell to the ground. His body hurt everywhere and he found he couldn't make it the rest of the way to his bed. He was just about to settle on staying on the floor, when a small face came out from around his bed.

Kankurou chuckled dryly. "Good idea, come in before I get a chance to lock the door," he said, the joke just as dry as his laugh.

Gaara came out and crawled in inches over to him. "Are you…ok?" he asked, though it was obvious he wasn't.

"I'm fine!" Kankurou assured him, grinning. "See? I can still raise my arm—Ow!" he winced and looked sheepishly away. "See I'm fine," he said, as Gaara helped him up to the bed.

Once he was sitting on the softness of the bed, Gaara let him go and backed away towards the door, ready to be kicked out again. Kankurou watched him fiddle with his fingers and sleeves, unsure and nervous.

"Come here, Gaara."

Gaara obediently came over to the bed and stood in front of his brother, staring at his feet. Kankurou said his name again, very softly, causing Gaara to look up at his face.

"I'm sorry," Kankurou said.

Gaara shook his head instantly. "You don't have to be sorry!" he insisted, almost frantically. "I was the one who—"

"No, Gaara," Kankurou said, keeping his voice low and even. "I've been a real bastard to you and you didn't deserve it. I'm really sorry."

"It's ok," Gaara said quietly. "You don't have…to…" At a look from Kankurou, his voice trailed off. "I forgive you," he whispered.

Kankurou smiled at him, then frowned and looked him up and down. "How _did_ you get so dirty?"

Gaara's face brightened instantly as he told Kankurou about his afternoon. "Coach wanted me to play with the newer players cause the teams were short a few people, and I didn't want to but I did anyway. He made me GK—that's a goalie—and I did good! I caught all but one ball!"

"Good job," Kankurou said, grinning.

"Oh, and then later," Kankurou could tell this was what Gaara really wanted to tell him, "Coach wanted me to play on the field-field—"

"Isn't the goalie on the field?"

"I mean like running around with the ball," Gaara explained to Kankurou, who was trying not the laugh at his brother's many hand gestures as he talked. "Well, I tried to leave, but Neji stopped me and tried to talk me into playing, then Itachi started messing with Neji and then guess what?"

"What?"

"Neji beat the shit out of Itachi!" Gaara said, looking like this was the best moment of his life.

"Nuh-uh!" Kankurou said staring.

"Flat on the ground!"

"No shit! Really?" Kankurou asked, grin spreading across his face.

Gaara nodded happily, as Kankurou laughed, ignoring the pain from doing so. Gaara seemed to have forgotten for the mean time about what had happened downstairs. That was fine with Kankurou though, he wanted to keep Gaara happy for as long as he could, while he thought out what he was going to tell him.

* * *

wow...this chapter got loooong 


	18. A Blank Paper

**Vindicated **

Chapter 18: A Blank Paper

**Junsui Kegasu: **in my school yearbook is a class. I chew on my finger and sleeve all the time…that's my bad habit I put in for Gaara

**Ebony: **omg I canna wait for carousel to be updated I love how u write and—(freaks out) ACK HIGH PITCH VOICES SINGING ANNOYING AONG! (pant pant) sorry, I'm watchin shrek while updating…anyway…yeah I love how u write and I can't wait to see Neji and Gaara cause it's sooooo awesome!

**K-bob: **yeah Kankurou went to the bathroom…just at night, when Gaara was in Temari's room or during the day when everyone was at school. Why Kankurou? Cause their father's an abusive asshole…

**Shinobi Gaara of the Sand: **Gaara's actually good at 2 things in soccer, he just never knew it. goalie is one thing, and the other ull see in this chapter. Omg I haven't talked to u in forEVER I'm so upset! I canna wait for ur next chapter! (sob) I miss u so much! (hey I'm talking to you now :3

**Arigato to every one! **

**Ooh! Random note to readers: **

**I AM GOING TO FINISH THREE AGAIN! **

**I saw like, the human version of the story and was struck with inspiration … although I might finish vindicated first **

* * *

Kankurou relaxed on his bed, eyes closed yet unable to fall into the peacefully quietness of sleep. It's not that his room was loud; in fact the soft breathing of the figure sitting on the floor by his bed was calming enough to put anyone to sleep. However, Kankurou's mind was too full to let himself be in peace, despite Gaara's presence that somehow made him feel more comfortable then he had at all in the past week. He never realized how much he needed Gaara around just as much as Gaara needed him around. He cracked an eye open and looked down at his brother.

His face was set in concentration, total focus on the Gameboy in his hands. Knees drawn up to his chest and hair still damp from his shower. Gaara's pajama's were in the wash right now so he was now clothed in on of Kankurou's old t-shirts and plaid pajama pants that had to be rolled down at the waist four times and tied as tight as it could and the pants legs still hung over his toes.

Kankurou smiled as his little brother muttered things at the Gameboy as if cheering himself on to victory or cursing the nasty turtle people who were beating him, though he was only playing the old Mario 3 game (H-R and Shukaku: That's our favorite game!). He got up slowly and painfully, feeling like an old man to crawl over and rest his head on Gaara's shoulder to watch.

"Where are you?" he asked, voice muffled at the limited jaw movement.

"The water world," Gaara said quietly, keeping his voice as low as he could out of habit.

"That's all?" Kankurou said, laughing.

"Shut up," Gaara mumbled with an embarrassed frown, his focus back on the game.

Kankurou sighed and bit his lip then reached over and took the game from him. Gaara turned around, protesting as he saved and closed the game. He set the game down on his end table and sat back; ignoring Gaara's protests and assuring that the volume was down and not bothering him.

"Gaara, I need to talk to you," Kankurou said quietly.

Gaara stared at him curiously, completely lost. Kankurou smiled to him self; Gaara had always been good at unconsciously forgetting things he didn't want to remember. He gave his bed a pat and Gaara climbed up to sit cross-legged at the foot of his bed, still watching him, questions running across his face. One stuck out more then the rest and Kankurou answered it for him.

"About what happened downstairs."

Gaara froze and began shifting nervously as the memory resurfaced. "You don't have to," he stammered badly. "It's ok."

"No it's not," Kankurou said, shaking his head. "I told you before. I've been a real bastard to you in the past week. I can't believe you went through an entire week without eating!"

"I—I wasn't hungry," Gaara stammered.

"That doesn't matter, you can get really sick from not eating. Kyu says she thinks you were depressed and forgot to eat."

"I—I was worried about you…cause you were l—locking your door…a—and not coming out…"

"I know, I'm sorry, and I'm really sorry I yelled at you to go away. I didn't come out cause I didn't want you to find out. But you really need to know. And I should have told you a long time ago."

Kankurou knew he shouldn't have made Gaara stay up with him like he was, it being a school night, but the words had to be said. It started with an apology, then the rest just spilled out. He talked for over two hours, he lost track, but Gaara listened, not interrupting at all; he seemed to understand that Kankurou just wanted to get it all out. Kankurou told him everything about his own past he'd been holding in and the truth about Gaara's, much of which Gaara could not remember. When he was finished, they both sat in a deep silence for a long time.

"I—I didn't…kill mom?" Gaara said quietly.

"No, Gaara, you didn't," Kankurou said, shaking his head. "I've been trying to tell you that since you were little, but you never believed me. Dad was always mean. The day you were born…you were born too early, cause dad hurt mom and she has to go to the hospital and went into labor. Mom died giving birth to you. It wasn't your fault."

"B—but dad loved mom…"

"He did…he just has anger issues…they got into an argument…a big one, and dad pushed mom down the stairs…" Kankurou told him.

"Well…I don't understand…why did he…h—hurt…you?"

"I don't know, Gaara, I've never understood him," Kankurou said, looking down at the bed in between them. "It's just…after mom died, dad would get irritated and angry at the littlest things. It started with little things…snapping and yelling, then it progressed to hitting and stuff. He's gotten a lot…braver since I was little. I hate the way he treats you…what he does to you, it's horrible!"

Kankurou sighed and looked up at him. Gaara's eyes darted away from where he had been looking at him, back down to the bed.

"I was so mad when I found out that he was hurting you. Then I came home from school one day and he was…strangling you…hitting you and yelling at you. You were _eight_, and so little…I couldn't stand it. dad and I got into an argument and it turned into a fight…the first one we ever had. I lost, badly, but I realized that I could fight back…and I decided I wouldn't put up with his shit anymore. I tried to get dad turned in, but dad caught me trying to smuggle you out at the same time. He hurt you real bad, and left me alone. It hurt me worse then if he would have hurt me instead. When he was done, he shoved you at me and told me that if I tried anything stupid, he'd kill you…"

There was another long silence.

"…W—why can't I remember any of this?" Gaara finally asked quietly, frowning to himself as he desperately searched for the lost memories.

Kankurou thought for a while. "Maybe cause you didn't want to remember," he suggested. "You're not that good at remembering things anyway." He said grinning sheepishly.

"Oh," was the only reply.

Kankurou tilted his head to the side, watching him brother. "Are you ok?" he asked.

Gaara slowly raised a shoulder and let it drop. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"What are you sorry for?" Kankurou asked, surprised.

"I-I don't know…I just…am," Gaara said quietly. "Does T-Temari know?"

"Yes."

"Oh," Gaara said quietly, his voice not giving anything to what he was thinking. He slowly got off the bed and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Kankurou looked after him, gripping his covers tightly as panic rushed in. He forced himself to relax, telling himself that Gaara just needed time to let it all sink in. It was a lot of stuff that was probably hard to believe. Kankurou looked at his door again, wondering where Gaara would go if he didn't sit in his spot on the floor.

* * *

Neji yawned and flopped down on his bed. He was bruised. He was battered. He was full. And he was clean. A nice combination of wases. He was tired too though. He curled up under his covers, drifting off instantly, not even bothering to change out of his bathrobe. No dreams came to him, which he was grateful. He wanted to rest, even in his dreams.

He woke up later, feeling annoyed by doing so, because he could tell it was long before he needed to get up. A glance at his clock told him that it was only two in the morning. He closed his eyes again, but sleep wouldn't return to him. He brought his hand up to brush hair off his face and froze.

Frowning slightly, he fumbled around his bed, reaching blindly around in the dark. His fingers touched warm skin and he jerked them back, sitting up, surprised. The moon and street lights were shining in his window casting a very dim light in the room. He widened his eyes as much as he could, taking in the light to see better and looked back down at his bed.

"…." Neji stared, then reached out again, touching the figure, taken by complete surprise.

The touch wakened the dozing figure, who groaned and shifted slightly, emerging from sleep into awareness.

"Gaara?" Neji said, shaking his head, still shocked.

Gaara sighed sleepily and pushed himself up on his elbows. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"What are you doing here?" Neji asked, glancing at the door, as if expecting someone to walk in on them.

"I—I don't know…I was walking and… I ended up here," Gaara sat up suddenly and started to swing himself off the bed. "I'm sorry, I'll leave."

"No, no, no!" Neji reached out and pulled Gaara back. "Don't leave!"

"But I shouldn't be here! I'm gonna get you in trouble."

"Who let you in?" Neji asked.

"The back window was open."

"You snuck in my house because you were going for a walk?" Neji asked, confused.

There was a pause between them. Gaara hung his head, still convinced this was a mistake. Neji looked at him and leaned towards him.

"Did something bad happen at home?" Neji asked in a much softer voice. He reached out and put his arm around Gaara's shoulders, bringing him closer.

Gaara didn't answer for a while. He moved into him, burying his face in Neji's warm robe. "Kankurou and I had a talk," he said.

Neji made a thinking sound, remembering how Gaara had come up to him every day, worried about his brother. He supposed they must have made up, but there seemed to be more to the story, but Gaara didn't tell and Neji didn't press. He smiled warmly, lying back down and wrapped his arms around Gaara's smaller body, pulling him closer so that Gaara was lying on his stomach using him as a pillow. Gaara sunk into his embrace with no flinching or shakiness. He wanted Neji's comfort. Neji rested his cheek on Gaara's head and began running slow soft circles with his fingers on his back.

"Sh…" he whispered, though the other boy was completely silent. "It's ok…Talk to me, Gaara…tell me what's wrong."

"Kankurou told me…that when he was little, dad..dy use to hurt him too," Gaara said slowly and softly.

Neji frowned at the use of the word 'daddy'. Gaara rarely referred to his father as daddy and only when he was thinking about something wrong, something that Neji would be upset with. He didn't say anything about it though.

"Really?" he asked.

Gaara nodded against him. "W-when I got home, he was hurting Kankurou, and he called Kankurou a wimp and a sissy like I am…and then he hurt me and sent me upstairs … Kankurou didn't come up until a lot later."

"He hurt you too?" Neji asked softly. "Where?"

"My hair," Gaara answered quietly. "He pulled it and grabbed my neck."

Neji lean forward and kissed his fore head, the moved his hand up to gently rub and run his fingers through his thick red hair. With his other hand he went to the back of Gaara's neck and rubbed it as well. He felt Gaara lean into his touch, wanting it more. Like a cat when you touch it's favorite spot.

"It's not your fault though," Neji whispered in a soft soothing voice.

When Gaara spoke, his voice sounded funny. It was a mix between the pleasure of Neji easing the pain in his neck and the upset one that was the one he was trying to use. "B—but Kankurou said…that the only reason daddy was leaving me alone was because he…he was…h—hurting…Kank—" As he spoke his voice cracked and his shaking became uncontrollable as tears spilled down his cheeks. "S—so it—it is m—my fault…"

Neji bit his lip and hugged him. "No…no…no, no," he said.

Gaara looked up at him, and Neji pulled away, looking down at him, eyes half closed in a content way.

"Kankurou could have fought back," Neji continued, "but he didn't. He chose not too. Right?" he cupped Gaara's face in his hand and leaned forward. "It's much too heavy for one person to bear all alone," he whispered, his lips barely touching Gaara's.

He leaned forward more, meeting his lips in a soft kiss. He lingered there for a moment then broke it, pulling Gaara to him so that any space that was left between them was now nonexistent.

Gaara allowed Neji to pull him in, resting his head on Neji's chest, the warmth of his arms around him were more comfortable then the softest blankets. He sighed sleepily and wrapped his own arms around Neji. Maybe it was the fact that he was tired and Kankurou's story that left him dazed and confused, but he didn't mind the kiss, or the closeness of the other boy. He found himself feeling upset when Neji broke away, but was content to lie in the boy's arms. Neji continued to draw circles on his back, running his hands up and down his spine, sending small shivers throughout his body. He fell asleep that night listening to Neji's heart beat.

* * *

Hyuga Hanabi was at the age where she thought she deserved to be treated like a teenager even though she was only ten years old. Her sister Hinata was a morbid, quiet girl whose stare could stop a herd of raging bulls in their tracks. Her cousin Neji was a cool, gay, soccer player. Neither was willing to play the role of the popular kid that knew everything. Hanabi decided that she would take on the role. She didn't care if she was annoying, or sometimes mean, it wasn't her fault that she was superior to all around her. But she forgave them for their mistakes because they could not help it; just like she was forgiving Neji right now for sleeping in late by going into his room without knocking and waking him up.

However, she was not expecting to see what she saw when she walked into his room.

"…." she raised an eye brow. "DADDY! NEJI HAD SEX LAST NIGHT WITH HIS BOYFRIEND!"

* * *

"I swear we weren't doing anything!" Neji insisted, blushing darkly from where he sat in front of Hiashi, who was trying his hardest not to laugh. "Gaara came over last night and fell asleep. Nothing happened. Clothes were kept on throughout the night!"

Hiashi folded his arms and gave him an even look. "When did Gaara come over?" he asked.

"I don't know…late. Everyone was asleep. Someone left the window open," Neji said.

"So you planned this ahead of time?"

"NO!" Neji cried, freaking out. "Oh, my god!" he groaned, head in hands.

Gaara peeked in from where he sat in the kitchen, eating breakfast. He looked back at Hinata's mother with a questioning look.

"Did I get Neji in trouble?" he asked, quietly.

"Oh, no," she replied laughing. "Hiashi's just humoring himself. We know you two didn't do anything and even if you did, why should we punish you two for it?"

Gaara blushed and shrugged. "What about me coming in so late?" he asked.

"It's ok," she said. "We love having you over here, just call first next time so you don't have to climb through the window."

"Ok," Gaara said with his mouth full of muffins.

Neji came into the kitchen a few minutes later looking harassed. He sat down next to Gaara and muttered a thanks as his aunt placed a plate of waffles in front of him. They ate in silence until Gaara got up to put his empty plate and cup in the sink. The cup slipped through his fingers and smashed on the floor.

He whirled around to Hinata's mom as one of the butler people came over to clean it. "I'm sorry! I'm really, really sorry!"

Gaara dropped to the ground and started frantically trying to gather up all the broken pieces, repeating over and over how sorry he was. Hinata's mom, worried he'd cut himself, knelt down next to him and put her arm around his shoulder, bringing him to stand up straight again. Gaara shook and squeezed his eyes shut, expecting some kind of punishment, but none came.

"It's ok, Gaara-kun, it's just a cup," she said smiling. The butler finished picking the pieces up and threw them away. He bowed to Hinata's mom and backed away again. "See? It's all better now, calm down."

"But…" Gaara's voice trailed off, staring, very confused off into space.

Hinata's mom gave him a slight pat on the shoulder and gave him a nudge to go back and sit with Neji, who just smiled reassuringly at him, mouth full, gesturing to his waffles. Gaara shook his head as Hanabi pointed her fork at Neji, demanding why Gaara was allowed to touch his waffles but she wasn't allowed to _look_ at them. Neji glared at her and mutter 'can it' around his mouthful, pointing his knife at her.

* * *

Neji refused to ride with his cousins because of what happened that morning. He and Gaara walked to school, Gaara afraid to even look at the fuming Neji. Hanabi barely let him eat from embarrassment. He finally left the table and went upstairs to shower. Gaara went up to his room later, still confused at why he hadn't been yelled at or punished, but neither could look at the other without blushing. He lent Gaara clothes and shoes for the day since Gaara had walked over in Kankurou's pajamas and bare feet. It was all big for him, but Gaara was use to it. It was chilly this morning so they were both wearing hoodies as they stepped onto the school ground. Neji sat down with a huff on a bench under a blooming tree, hands on his knees. Gaara stood near watching him warily, like a bomb about to go off.

Finally, he inched over so he was nonchalantly closer. "Are you mad at me?" he asked.

"No!"

"Ok," Gaara said, looking away. "Should I not do that anymore?"

Neji glanced up at him, then rolled his eyes grinning. "Nah, it's ok. I'm just annoyed with Hanabi," he said.

Gaara looked very relieved and sat down next to him.

"N—Neji?"

"Hm?"

"Why wasn't your aunt…mad at me?" Gaara asked quietly.

"It was just a cup," Neji said shortly. "No big. We have lots."

"But…but I _broke_ it," Gaara persisted.

"I know," Neji said smiling kindly. "But still, it was just a cup."

Gaara hung his head. "I still don't understand why she didn't yell at me," he mumbled.

"It's ok," Neji assured him. "You will…eventually."

"Um…Neji?"

"Hm?"

"Could you…um…would….please…." Gaara stared down at his hands as they fiddled nervously. He blushed darkly.

Neji smiled, reaching out to lift his chin, then leaned in and kissed him. Gaara smiled embarrassed, blushing darkly as Neji smiled at him.

"That what you wanted?" Neji asked.

Gaara blushed darker and stared down at his hands.

"GAARA!"

The two boys looked up as Temari and Kankurou ran up to them. Temari threw her arms around him, crying about her worries and how he should never do that again. Kankurou pushed her away and grabbed both his shoulders.

"Where did you go?" he demanded.

Gaara couldn't hear any anger in his voice at all, which made him feel better. He looked down and said apologetically, "I was at Neji's. I'm sorry."

Kankurou sighed and seemed to relax. "Ok…Sorry I was just worried," he said, releasing him.

"It's ok," Gaara assured him.

Kankurou gave him an even look and pulled him away from Temari and Neji. "Ok … what's wrong?" he asked.

Gaara looked confused. "Huh?"

"You look like you're floating on cloud nine," Kankurou said crossing his arms. "What happened and should I kill Neji?"

Gaara grinned sheepishly. "No…" he said, all sparkles and shonen ai.

"….." Kankurou's eyes narrowed. "He kissed you didn't he?"

Gaara blushed slightly and tried not to smile, quite ineffectively, then nodded. Kankurou pursed his lips together and turned to glare at Neji.

* * *

(**Art-Gaara Neji**)

Neji glared at the piece of paper on his desk. It was a _blank_ piece of paper. The most hated thing on Neji's 'I hate' list. It was up there with Gaara's dad, Itachi and spinach. It screamed for something to unblankify it. However, Neji could not, for the _life of him_, think of anything to do just that. He glanced over at Gaara who was going scissor happy with the magazines donated to the Art department for students who like going scissor happy. Gaara's assignment was to make a collage out of whatever he wanted out of magazine clippings. Neji had to sketch out two pictures of chaotic, emotional figures and paint one with expression. But no matter how much Neji racked his brain, he couldn't think of anything.

Laying out his options, he ignored Gaara, who was tossing another destroyed magazine, nearly all the figures in it missing at least one of their eyes, over his shoulder into the box where they came from, then picked up another, and thought hard. Which emotions were chaotic? Fear, anger, angst, rage, wrath, depression. This was a pretty depressing assignment.

Abandoning it for the moment, he turned to Gaara who was poking through his large pile of different color and size eyes.

"I don't have enough," Gaara said, thinking aloud.

"Maybe not, but you look like your enjoying yourself, so I don't think finding more will be a problem," Neji said, leaning on his elbow.

"Wanna see?" Gaara asked.

Neji scooted his chair over and joined him in shifting through the eyes, smiling as Gaara showed him each one he picked up as well as the one Neji picked up.

* * *

Haku smiled at the substitute who was monitoring the bathrooms for who ever they were subbing for and handed him the pass. The sub smiled at him then gave him a weird look as Haku turned and went into the boy's bathroom. Haku smiled to himself at this, finding delight in confusing people with his gender. As the door closed behind him he heard someone loudly clearing their throat behind him. Turning, he was surprised to see Kankurou.

"Hi, Kankurou," Haku said, smiling. "What's up?"

"Not…much," Kankurou said slowly.

"What's wrong?" Haku asked, tilting his head to the side.

"I donno," Kankurou said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Maybe I just want to know…why you brought Gaara back to the house last week." He ended this sentence with anger and a demanding tone.

"Oh," Haku said shortly. He hung his head and tried to explain himself.

**Flashback**

_"Haku, this isn't the way to my house," Gaara said, confused, frowning. "Where're we going?" _

_"Um…we're going to my house," Haku said, keeping his eyes on the road. _

_Gaara stared, but Haku couldn't see his expression. "Why?" he asked. His voice had a hint of fear in it, and confusion. _

_"Kankurou asked me to take you there," Haku explained. "He's coming later with Temari." _

_"I don't understand," Gaara said. _

_"Well,…Kankurou wants you three to…not be home for a while," Haku said. "You'll go to my house for a while, and then Kankurou's going to come and take you somewhere safe he said." _

_"Run away?" Gaara asked staring. _

_"Yeah." _

_"No!" Gaara cried. "Take me home, Haku, please! I don't want to run away!" _

_"Why not?" Haku asked. _

_"Cause! Dad'll be so mad at me!" Gaara said. _

_"I don't think you'll be seeing your dad after this, Gaara," Haku said as they came to a red light. He finally turned and looked at Gaara. _

_He looked so scared to Haku. Afraid, not trusting, feeling betrayed. Haku looked at him sadly, wondering what thoughts were running through his head. He looked nearly ready to cry. _

_"Please, Haku!" Gaara begged. "Take me home! I don't want him to be angry with me anymore!" _

**End Flashback **

"I'm sorry, Kankurou," Haku said, quietly. "I couldn't bare the look on his face. He didn't want to leave and I didn't understand why. I still don't and I don't understand why you wanted him to leave in the first place. I'm sure you wouldn't want to tell me, but I just could stand it."

Kankurou sighed. "Right," he said, thinking. He knew Haku hadn't had it out for him, he knew Haku really cared about Gaara. He just couldn't bear to do something that would make Gaara upset.

"Thanks anyway," Kankurou said, turning and leaving the bathroom. Haku stared after him still upset about what had happened.

(**C Lunch Neji Kankurou**)

"GOD DAMNIT MOTHERFUCKER!"

Kankurou's eyebrow slowly went up as his eyes followed Neji as the angry Hyuga sit down across from him. Neji threw his book bag onto the table, ripping out his lunch then knocking his bag onto the ground. He sighed loudly and exasperatedly and began demolishing the poor carrots his aunt had packed for him.

Kankurou waited until Neji became so annoyed that he wasn't questioning his rage that he was burning holes in the older boy's head before saying anything.

"Is something bothering you?" he asked, smiling kindly.

Finally, Neji was allowed to vent the pent up rant that had been boiling inside him since the end of second period. "There is a piece of paper, up in the art room and it has my name on it and it is _blank_."

"So?"

Neji glared at him. "It's _blank_. There is nothing on it. It is empty of that which would be my art work."

"Why's that?"

"Because I can't think of anything to put on it!" Neji cried, making wild, angry gestures with his hands.

Kankurou grinned. "You'll think of something, I'm sure," he said, drinking his soda. He watched Neji huff and began eating his sandwich before continuing. "Draw Gaara."

Neji's head snapped up. "Huh?"

Kankurou shrugged. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you asked him," he said. "It just popped up in my head, that's all."

Neji sat back and thought for a moment, but that moment was all he needed as thousands of inspirational possibilities ran through his head. Drawing a subject always was easier to get ideas from. Neji smiled, feeling better, he'd ask Gaara after school.

"Speaking of Gaara," Kankurou said, clearing his throat pointedly.

Neji smiled suddenly and looked at him expectantly.

"Dude…you kissed my brother."

"We've been over this before," Neji said in a perky voice.

"Yeah, but I mean…you really kissed him this time!" Kankurou said louder then he intended. Several heads turned to stare at him, but Kankurou didn't care. "I was ok with the cheek thing, but you kissed him kissed him!" he shrieked.

Neji just smiled and shrugged. "I don't think he minded," he said, taking a sip of his water.

"I MIND!" Kankurou shouted.

Just then Kyu walked by, getting quotes for the yearbook since the person she was interviewing wasn't available during seventh period.

"Hi, Kankurou!" she said cheerfully, as she hurried by.

"Hi," Kankurou said in a dreamy voice watching her until she turned and left the cafeteria. He turned back to Neji. "I MIND!"

"He asked me to."

"THE HELL HE DID!"

"Young man you need to calm down," a random cafeteria monitor person said.

Kankurou slumped back down in his chair and glared at Neji. "I'll deal with you later," he promised the still smiling Neji.

* * *

Gaara watched the players from where he was perched in a tree to get a better view, chewing on his pen. Every once and a while he'd make a little note on the clip board Genma gave him. He really didn't feel comfortable evaluating the players and their skills, since he wasn't good himself, but that was what Genma wanted him to do whether he liked it or not.

As the whistle was blown for a break, the players flocked over to their stuff for their drinks. Gaara climbed down out of the tree and went over to them, handing Genma the clip board before going over to Neji and his friends. Neji gave him some of his Gatorade, which he sipped then gave back, listening to the soccer players talk. Someone grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.

"Did you say nice things about me?" the boy who grabbed him said.

Gaara swallowed and backed away. It was the boy from the first practice. He didn't know this boy's name. How could he remember what he wrote down? "I don't know," he said, honestly.

"Sure you don't," the boy said, glaring down at him. Gaara could see his friends standing behind him, laughing. "I hope you said pretty things, you—"

"Back off," Kiba said.

"Or what?" the boy said. Neji turned and faced him as well, standing next to Gaara and Kiba glaring. The boy addressed Neji. "You gonna fight me too? How romantic. You'll be off the team if you do."

"My only question is why you would need to know what he wrote," Neji said, calmly. "If you're a decent enough player, you should have to worry about it."

The boy and his friends glared at him, then laughed as if they made them say exactly what they wanted, then walked passed them, knocking into Gaara doing so, giving him nasty looks and muttering things only he could hear clearly.

"Assholes," Kiba muttered. "Don't worry about it, man," he added giving Gaara a grin.

Gaara laughed nervously as the other boys laughed also and poked fun at the boy and his friends. He watched Neji grin then shake his head at them. Neji took another few gulps of his drink then picked up a ball and a ball bag then walked out onto the field, not asking Gaara to follow him, since he knew he would anyway.

"Shouldn't you be resting?" Gaara asked.

"I did," Neji said. He took his bandanna off and shook his hair out. He rolled the bandanna up again then wrapped it around his head, tying it underneath his hair, then slipped a hair tie off his wrist and pulled his hair off his face in a pony tail just below the bandanna tie (normal Neji hair do like how we first saw him in the manga). "There," he said satisfied. "You learn to kick straight yet?"

Gaara shook his head.

"Throwing's good then," he said. "Wanna help me?"

"Sure," Gaara said, catching the ball Neji threw at him.

"Throw the balls towards the line, but not over it. Let it bounce a few times and I'll try to keep it from going out," Neji said.

Gaara nodded and pulled the bag of balls over to him. When he looked up Neji was watching him, looking him over as if analyzing him. Gaara froze where he was and glanced around confused, wondering what was wrong.

"What?" he asked.

"You know that thing I have to do for Art?" Neji asked.

"Yeah," Gaara replied slowly.

"Could I use you for subject?"

Gaara stood up straight again, looking surprised. "Me?" he asked.

"No, the other you behind you," Neji said sarcastically. He almost laughed as Gaara started to glance behind him. "You don't have to if you don't want to."

"No, it's ok," Gaara said quickly. "I'll do it."

"Yeah?" Neji asked his smile widening. "Awesome, thanks. Alright, let's go."

His eyes locked on the ball in Gaara's hands, waiting for him to throw it. Gaara drew his arms back then did so, letting it fly across the field, watching Neji sprint after it. Neji slid his foot underneath the ball just before it went out and clipped it up into the air. Once he righted himself, he dribbled the ball back to where Gaara was waiting with another ball.

"Like that?" Gaara asked.

"Yeah, just like that," Neji said smiling. "Where'd you learn to throw like that?"

"Huh?"

"That was a really…good throw," Neji said, gesturing towards the direction he had come from.

"I—I don't know…"

"Well…that was a really good throw," Neji repeated. "Lemme see you do that again," he added, smiling broadly, getting ready to run again.

Gaara threw all fifteen balls towards the line, allowing it to bounce at least twice. Neji chased after them, trying to catch them before they bounce out, then brought them back and started again. Out of the fifteen balls, Neji only missed two. As he brought the last one back, pissed at himself for missing it, his friends came up wanting to play a game.

"We're short one," Neji said frowning.

"No we're not," #5 said, grinning. He draped an arm around Gaara's thin shoulders. "Gaara makes an even eight."

Gaara stared then pulled out of his arm. "I can't play," he said, apologetically. "I can't even kick a ball right."

"You'll be GK then," Kiba said, grinning.

"But—"

"Hey, you're good man," he insisted. "Besides it's just for fun."

Gaara frowned, disturbed then glanced up at Neji, who looked ecstatic at the thought of him playing with them. He bit his lip then nodded, saying ok.

"Alright then!" #2 said, grinning widely. "I get Gaara," he added, leaning on the smaller boy.

"Neji," said #4.

"Kiba," #2 said.

They divided the players then started the game, playing until Genma blow the whistle for the twenty minute break to end.

* * *

Hiashi got out of the car as Gaara did after he pulled up to the house. Neji and Gaara looked at him curiously as he shut his door.

"I'm just going to assure your father that there was no problem about last night," he explained.

Gaara instantly whirled around to Neji, looking terrified. Neji bit his lip and got out of the car as well. As Hiashi turned and started walking towards the house, Neji took Gaara's shaking hand and the two walk slowly behind him. Hiashi knocked on the door, which opened almost instantly revealing Gaara's father standing behind it. Neji frowned at the thought of Gaara's father waiting for him to come home. An eyebrow was raised at the two Hyuga's and dropped to a frown at the sight of Gaara standing with them.

"Where were you?" the question was practically spat at the redhead.

"Sorry," came the quiet response.

"He was at my house," Hiashi said, cutting in. "It's fine though, we enjoy having him over."

Gaara's father gave Hiashi an exasperated look. "I don't care whether it was fine with you. He snuck out last night with out permission and with out calling. Kankurou didn't even know where he was."

"I understand your concern," Hiashi said. "He should have called, but I didn't think of it until after they left for school. If it's alright with you, Gaara could spend the night after practice so that your family wont have to delay dinner."

"I do not reward disobedience, Hyuga-san," Gaara's father said, eyes narrowing. "Gaara, get inside. Now."

Keeping his eyes downcast, Gaara let go of Neji's hand and went inside. His father thanked Hiashi for bringing him home. Hiashi and Neji bowed their goodbyes and returned to the car, immersed in their own thoughts.

Gaara watched as his father turned to him after making sure the two Hyugas were gone, every ounce livid at his youngest son. Gaara backed away from him until he met the wall in the living room.

"I—I'm sorry," he whimpered as his father approached him. Cold sweat clung to his face and he couldn't stop his shaking that felt like giant tremors racking his body. "I'm sorry daddy, I'm sorry. P—please—"

"Shut up," his father said. Not a shout—Gaara would have preferred a shout, but a soft voice, icy and dripping with venom. "Stop your sniveling. You know you were bad. And you know you need to be punished. Don't you dare make a sound."

Gaara bit his lip until blood filled his mouth. He didn't make a sound. He stayed where he was, pinned to the wall by his father's hand at the base of his neck, ready to choke him if he struggled. Each blow hurt worse then the last, but he didn't make a sound. He was wrenched from the wall, and then slammed back into it, his feet hanging a near foot from the ground. He coughed up blood from his lip or somewhere else, he didn't know. It wouldn't stop. He clung to consciousness. He couldn't comprehend anything his father was saying. He felt his arm snap as it got caught in a funny position behind him as he was slammed into the wall again. He whimpered in pain and was rewarded with a hard punch in the face and was slammed side ways into the wall, his face hitting a frame of a picture on the wall. Noises were blurring together as was the living room and the man in front of him.

Someone scream.

His father cursing and he fell, the world going black before he hit the ground.


	19. Reality

**Vindicated**

Chapter 19: Reality

( h-r has been TOLD. Here u go Chinese Fairy (heart))

* * *

H-R hates her glasses! She would much rather wear contacts all the time and risk getting an infection! But her mama has spoken so she must wear glasses until she find her contact case…why's this relevant? Oh cause H-R can't see that well cause she no like her glasses so she's not gonna write review responses in this chapter gomen nasai!

* * *

He never knew when he became aware of himself. It was like waking slowly from a deep sleep, but when he was fully aware, the first thing he noticed was that his senses weren't working. 

Gaara panicked when he realized he couldn't move or open his eyes—or maybe his eyes were open and he couldn't see. He tried to scream, but his voice wasn't working. The panic died down after a while and he started focusing on other things. Feeling slowly came back to him and he found himself lying on a bed and in serious pain. It wasn't Kankurou's bed either.

Panic rose again. He didn't know where he was. He didn't know where Kankurou was. He tried to call out for his brother, scream out his name. He felt no sound come out; he didn't even know if his mouth opened or not. He was scared and frustrated.

'_Kankurou…'_

Panic rose higher. No sound. No answer.

'_Kankurou.' _

He felt as though tears were jerking at his eyes, but his body had forgotten how to cry. His thoughts screamed in desperation.

'_Kankurou!'_

A voice.

He froze, straining his ears to listen. The voice was muffled and sounded like wind in a video camera. A low whooshing sound. It hurt his head. He wanted a real voice. He wanted Kankurou.

'_Aniki…where are you?'_

* * *

"What do you think?" 

Kankurou watched the two men from where he sat on his father's bed next to his unmoving brother.

He had been in his room, head phones on, doing his homework when he heard Temari scream in terror. He heard her screaming sobs telling their father he'd 'kill him if he didn't stop'. Kankurou jumped up instantly, running as fast as he could, not having to think about who the 'him' was. When he got down to the living room, his father was standing over his youngest son, who had fallen out of consciousness, gently lifting him up off the floor. Temari was near hysteria as their father carried Gaara up to his room and put him on his large bed.

His father was currently in deep conversation with one of his friends, a man who had hurt Gaara himself before—who Kankurou found out the evening was a doctor—he'd called over to check on Gaara. Kankurou glared at them. He didn't think his father's friend was a good doctor. A good doctor would have helped him and tell his father that he was a monster that should be locked away forever. This man wasn't a good doctor. He was telling his father how he could cover this up—or rather, how hard it would be to cover this up. Kankurou did notice, however, that his father seemed uninterested in that and more on if Gaara would be alright or not. He even mentioned something about taking him to the hospital, which Kankurou knew would be an absolute last resort. He didn't understand why his father was caring like this. This happened once before though, but to himself, not to Gaara. He had done something horrible—he couldn't even remember what it was now, but his father had beaten him very badly, going so far as to burn his hands on the stove tops. His father had called a friend who knew some medical practice to help take care of him then. He never went this far if he could help it, but sometimes the man's rage was uncontrollable.

He pulled himself from his thoughts as he noticed the two men had stopped talking and were looking in his direction. He frowned when he realized they were not looking at him, but at the still boy next to him.

Looking down he saw that Gaara's eyes were partially open, but blurred and unfocused and a small noise was coming from his throat. Kankurou jumped up and knelt in his vision range, calling his name softly. Gaara didn't seem to be able to hear him. His face was twisted in fear. No. Not fear, pure terror. He was very scared and probably in pain as well.

Kankurou wanted to touch him, hug him, comfort him, take the pain away, but he was so badly hurt that Kankurou was afraid to do anything. The two men came up closer to the bed listening. The three listened for a moment before realizing Gaara was trying to speak.

"He's awake."

"No, shit, Sherlock," Kankurou snapped at the man.

"Shut up Kankurou," his father warned.

They watched as Gaara slowly blinked, his vision seemed to be improving. Kankurou started to say something, but his father pushed him away, out of Gaara's would be sight.

"Dad," Kankurou scoffed, righting himself again. "He'll freak if he wakes up and doesn't know where he is."

"He knows were he is," the doctor sneered. "He's in here more then you are."

"I'm sure he'll be comforted to know he's in his father's room—_the father that put him in this condition_—alone. He'll think he's done something wrong and he'll be even more scared then he is right now!" Kankurou said angrily.

"Listen you—"

"Kankurou?"

The sound was so quiet at first they weren't sure if they really did, but they instantly hushed and listened again. The name was repeated softly again, the familiar sound slipping from Gaara's mouth. It would have been a call or a frightened shout if it had been louder, but it was no louder then a whimpering whisper.

The two men wouldn't let Kankurou near the bed now; they bent over Gaara trying to get him to respond. Kankurou started angrily as the doctor lost his patience and grabbed Gaara's shoulders, yelling at him, shaking him hard, then throwing him back onto the bed and punching the pillow. Their father started yelling angrily at his friend, while the movement got a reaction, it was not a good one.

Kankurou watched, biting his lip as Gaara shriveled from the angry gesture, somehow moving, but, in doing so, hurt him self and cried out in pain. The smaller boy was near tears; scared of the men standing next to him and unable to move without hurting all over. Scared to the point that when his father reached out to gentle brush his hair away, Gaara cringed away, biting his lip so that it bled and whimpered, continuously begging for his brother.

Finally his father sighed and turned to Kankurou, who was standing near the closet door, looking worriedly at his brother. He jabbed at Gaara with his thumb over his shoulder. "Calm him down, I'll be back," he said, leading the doctor out of the room.

Kankurou waited until the foot steps on the stairs disappeared into the kitchen before hurrying over to his little brother.

"Gaara," he said softly.

Gaara's eyes snapped back open and he looked at Kankurou, eyes still hazed over, but relief swept over his expression. Seeing this, Kankurou pulled him up and wrapped his arms around his baby brother, holding him tight.

"K—Kankurou… I h—hurt…everywhere… make it stop… please…"

"Sh…I know it hurts, I'm sorry," Kankurou whispered. He almost started rocking him, but stopped himself so as not to hurt him more. He just held him tight, both comforting one just as much as the other.

They were still like that when their father came back up with more bandages and what looked like broth for Gaara to eat. He told Kankurou to leave the room so that he could take care of the smaller boy without Kankurou watching him. Gaara saw his brother start to leave and began making pitiful noises of distress. They father repeated the order and Kankurou shot Gaara a look of apology before getting up. As he walked out he heard his father coaxing Gaara to drink the warn broth and heard Gaara's whimpering apologies and promises to be good.

Kankurou bit his lip and turned back to look at the bed. Gaara was afraid of their father. He couldn't drink the broth easily because he was so afraid. Afraid of messing up, afraid of doing something wrong…afraid their father would desert him. Kankurou knew that even though the man hurt him, what Gaara wanted most in the world was his praise, but it made him nervous when doing things, trying to get it right. When Gaara was nervous, his hands would shake and he'd always mess up, or at least he'd mess up in their father's eyes. He watched as their father held his head up for him to sip the broth, but Gaara ended up choking on some and spilling a little. Kankurou hurried out of the room, not wanting to hear his little brother's near sobbing apologies, not his father's trying to pretend to care.

Kankurou sighed and walked down the hall to Temari's room. She hadn't locked it when she had gone in. He slipped in and found her curled up in her closet with all her covers and sheets she had stripped from her bed pilled on top of her. The sheets and blankets around her were soaked from tears and sweat. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying and she was having trouble breathing properly. When Kankurou pulled the covers away she looked up at him fearful then threw her arms around his waist, tears falling fresh once again, begging him to tell her that her baby brother was alive. Kankurou assured her that Gaara was alive and wrapped his arms around her and held her much like he did Gaara earlier. He rocked her back and forth as she cried, biting back tears him self.

* * *

The next morning, Kankurou and Temari got to see Gaara for a few minutes before they went to school. He looked worse then he did the night before, but he seemed less freaked out and smiled as they came in. Temari almost cried as she hugged him and gave him a kiss on his forehead. Kankurou placed a hand on his head and smiled down at him telling him to not be afraid to call him if he wanted to. As they turned to leave, Gaara's voice held him back. 

"Kankurou?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't tell Neji…"

"Why not?" Kankurou asked, turning to face him fully.

"I—I don't…want him to worry…he'll be upset and…I don't want him to be…"

"He's gonna figure it out, you know," Kankurou said softly. "He's not stupid…"

"I know, but he'll come over if he knew…"

"What's wrong with that?"

"Dad doesn't like him," Gaara said, his voice barely audible. "And…I look…I look...disgusting…"

"No you don't, Gaara, you really don't look disgusting," Kankurou said, coming back to the bed. "I wont tell Neji, I wasn't going to anyway, but you know Neji wouldn't do anything mean about it, don't you?"

"I know…It's just…I don't want him to see me like…this…"

"It's ok," Kankurou said, moving towards the door again. "See you after school."

"Bye…"

* * *

Kankurou waved as he approached the two twins waiting for him. Temari ran off to her group of friends, giving Kankurou a quick goodbye. A quick glance at the twins made him almost laugh. They were wearing the exact same thing, it was almost impossible to tell them apart. When questioned they said they were going to switch twins for the say and be each other to see if any one could tell the difference. Kankurou just laughed and shook his head. 

"Hey, Kankurou!"

Kankurou turned, eyebrow raised as Neji ran up to him.

"Dude…what's up with you this morning?" Ukon asked, staring with Kankurou at the Hyuga.

Neji's hair hung in unwashed clumps on his back and his clothes looked like he'd just gotten up, threw clothes on and ran to school—which was actually what he did. Ukon glanced from one to the other, then at Sakkon who shrugged.

"Where is Gaara?" Neji asked, worry plastered to his face.

"He's at home," Kankurou said shortly, not looking at him.

"What?" Neji cried, staring. "He hates being left alone! Why did you leave him alone? Is he sick? Is he _hurt_? Kankurou why aren't you—"

"Neji, shut up!" Kankurou snapped. "He's with dad. Stop nagging alright?" he added, then turned and walked into the school, the two twins trailing behind him looking puzzled.

Neji looked after them, completely crushed.

* * *

(**2nd period-Art-Neji**) 

Neji looked sadly at the empty desk next to his. Gaara wasn't in school. Kankurou wouldn't tell him what happened. He was so worried he was making himself sick. He knew there had to be a reason Kankurou wasn't telling him, but still, Neji figured it would have been nice to at least tell him if he was okay or not. Class seemed dull without Gaara to talk to.

To his annoyance, he could hear some of the other classmates whispering about the redhead's many absences, coming up with crazy stories for reasons. Some muttered that it was better for him not to be here because he was a panda eyed freak that deserved to die.

Neji clenched his fists, resisting the urge to go up to the kid and punch him in the face. When he had calmed himself down he sat back and stared sadly at his own desk, wondering if Gaara was ok.

* * *

Kankurou frowned as the late bell rang. He sat down at the lunch table he and Neji shared, looking around for the Hyuga boy. No Hyuga was in sight so he pulled out his lunch and began eating; mentally convincing himself that since Neji wasn't here he couldn't badger him about Gaara. As he thought of it though, he wondered where Neji was and if he was just avoiding him. 

He didn't know. He'd wait until seventh period to find out.

* * *

Gaara watched his father walk out of the room to go down stairs and answer knocking door. He was very confused. The man had been taking care of him since he woke up in the evening, feeding him, and changing his bandages and the damp cloth on his forehead. He had developed a fever over the night and continuously slipped in and out of a fitful sleep. He had woken up, nearly screaming in pain a few times, or panicking when he either saw where he was or couldn't figure out where he was. His father was always in the room with him either fixing something about him or sitting next to him working on his lap top. He didn't understand why his father was taking such good care of him, only yelling at him once, but the thought of him caring made Gaara feel so much better. He still couldn't move without pain shooting throughout his body and forcing himself to move would reopen some of the cuts that had been closed. His father had to carry him to the bathroom, because he couldn't walk on his own. 

Once, on one of these late night bathroom trips, Gaara had gotten a glance at himself in the mirror and cringed, wishing he hadn't. He looked horrible, his face was covered with bruises and sweat from his fever made his hair stick to his forehead and dry, and then stick again. He couldn't wear a shirt because of how much it hurt to move to take it on and off. He looked pathetically small and could barely tell what color his skin should have been in that area. He closed his eyes every time he was carried passed the mirror now, not wanting to see himself.

His fever burned and his head hurt more with every passing minute.

He was hungry too, but all he could eat was broth. He hadn't eaten anything solid since his small breakfast of muffins at the Hyugas. All he could hold down was broth though. His father tried to feed him something more solid, but his stomach couldn't handle it and he vomited it all up. The wrenching from the contractions of his muscles jarred his whole body and the bleeding that had finally stopped started again, and it took his father forever to get it to stop. He looked so angry at the event, Gaara had a terrifying thought that he would leave and neglect him in the bathroom until Kankurou came home, but he hadn't left him or told him that he was bad for throwing up.

The door opened again, but Gaara couldn't summon the strength to turn his head to see who it was. He heard his father muttering something to the person who entered with him, then stepped out again. He heard the someone moving quietly over to the bed, and then gently climb up on it. Whoever it was laid down next to him and placed their head on the pillows next his.

Suddenly, without seeing the person or any words being exchanged, he knew who it was. He turned his face away as far as he could, not wanting to be seen. Gentle fingers reached over, touching his sore chin and far cheek, urging him to turn his face.

"No," Gaara whined, fighting the hand despite the pain it gave him. "Please…don't look at me!"

"Gaara…" the voice was gentle, no annoyance or anger, like always. Its owner let go of him and sat up. Two hands reached down and cupped his face, gently turning his head to face him. Gaara looked up, eyes shiny with distressed tears that refused to fall, meeting Neji's white eyes. "It's alright…"

"D—don't look at m—me Neji …please," Gaara pleaded.

"It's ok," Neji said softly. "You look beautiful."

"No, I don't."

"I think you do," Neji assured him. He leaned down and kissed the top of his head. He released him and laid back down next to him, propping himself up on his elbow. "I was worried about you. I couldn't wait until after school."

"D—Dad let you in?" Gaara asked.

"Yeah," Neji said, running his fingers along Gaara's profile. "How do you feel?"

"Not good," Gaara replied. "I hurt all over."

"I'll bet," Neji murmured. "Want anything?"

Gaara tried to shake his head, but stopped and said no.

Neji suddenly sat up and inched away from Gaara as foot steps sounded on the stairs and the door opened. Gaara's father walked in with a large mug of broth. He set it on the end table by the bed then walked away. At the door he paused and glanced back at Neji.

"While you're here make sure to keep his fever down," he said then shut the door behind him.

"You've got a fever?" Neji asked, reaching out to touch his forehead. "Ow…you're really hot." He picked up the cloth that had fallen from Gaara's forehead and rewet it in the bowl of cool water Gaara's father had sitting on the end table too. He wrung it out then placed it on Gaara's forehead. "You should take some Tylenol or something. Have you eaten yet?"

"No, nothing stays down," Gaara told him.

"Oh, well then, never mind," Neji said. Neji picked up the mug and tested it. The broth was warm, but not burning hot.

"I'm not hungry," Gaara said watching him. "You can have it. You missed lunch."

Neji shook his head "I want you to drink it. It'll make you feel better."

"I don't want it. I'm not hungry."

Neji sighed and set the mug on the window still. He moved over by Gaara's head then slowly and gently lifted him up and moved behind him so that Gaara was propped up against him in a sitting position. Neji tried to ignore the whimpers of pain from the smaller boy as he moved him. Gaara laid his head back on Neji's shoulder, his breath escaping in short gasps. Neji wrapped his arms around him.

"Neji… that hurt…"

"Sorry."

"But…"

"Shh…" Neji shushed, gently holding him tighter, but avoiding anywhere that had bandages. He picked the mug up again and held it to Gaara's lips.

"No…I'm not hungry…"

"Just a little bit…please…?"

He continued to coax him until he gave in and sipped the broth slowly. Neji paused every few seconds to give Gaara a chance to breathe. He drank all of the broth through Neji's soft praises and gentle coaxing. Neji set the empty mug down on the end table and sighed, wrapping his arms around Gaara again, drawing circles on the boy's stomach, his cheek rubbing Gaara's still hot forehead.

Gaara moved his head to look up at Neji's face and Neji smiled down at him. Understanding what Gaara was unable to voice, Neji leaned forward and kissed him, holding his lips longer then the previous night. To Neji's surprise and delight, Gaara kissed him back. It was a little clumsy, but it still made Neji smile. He pulled away slightly and let his hands rub the smaller boy's shoulders and neck. Gaara didn't move, savoring the feeling of relief on his shoulders. When Neji leaned down again, Gaara willingly kissed him back. Neji began teasing Gaara's lips with his tongue. Gaara pulled back briefly, looking away, as he remembered Itachi. Neji whispered reassuring words to him, calling him back.

"Don't push me."

Gaara and Neji broke their kiss as Gaara's father walk in glaring. He walked over to the bed and picked up the mug, giving the two a hard look. Gaara instantly looked away blushing, but Neji gave him an even look.

"I let you come in here," the man said. "Don't be doing _that_…on _my_ bed no less."

Neji glared at him. "Go away," he snapped. "You're the one that did this to him. Give him some peace…leave us alone."

"'Go away'? 'Leave you alone'?" he repeated. "This is my house, and my room, and I'm not taking orders from you. I let you in because I'm getting sick of taking care of this pathetically worthless piece of shit."

Neji felt Gaara flinch in his arms at the hard slap of reality.

"I didn't want his brother here cause I know he'd be breathing down my back all day. You can take care of the shit now, since you care so much that you'd even kiss something that _disgusting_."

With that he turned and left the room, going down the stairs and out the door, getting into his car and driving away. Neither boy moved. Neji was frozen, mouth dropped, still staring at where the man had been. He snapped back to reality when he felt Gaara trembling and small drops of wetness dripped onto his arms, still wrapped around Gaara's chest. He didn't know what to say to him, so he held him tighter, burying his face in Gaara's hair, feeling like crying himself.

* * *


	20. Sleeping Angel

**Vindicated**

Chapter 20: Sleeping Angel

_**YAY! Happy birthday to all! finally everyone can get something new! surprises for all! and absolutely never before read chapter of Vindicated!**_

**Dragon man 180:** nyoh…gomen, just watch and take care of him for the rest of the afternoon…wouldn't it be awesome if he told Neji to take him away? Ha! Neji the puppy! Funny mental picture!

**Alisha:** (scuffles over to hide behind shinobi Gaara)(peeks out) don't kill me! if I killed kazebastard it would completely ruin the near future plot… I don't wanna haveta change the entire ending I have planned!

**Junsui Kegasu:** yep yep after this its ALL new stuff! Someone of which not even _you_ have seen (but will probably see in the near future (hail IM)) (dot dot face) temari bit…(goes back to check) what temari bit? U mean how she hid in the closet?...oh right…poor temari….(sob)

**Shinobi Gaara of the Sand:** I don't like nice kazebastard…ruins the whole thing…SQUISHINESS SHALL CONTINUE! (falls off chait from being overdramatic)

**Chinese Fairy:** (h-r has been overblown by flattery) u all need to stop before I float away or something….h-r's head is getting too big for her hat…wah in answer to ur question…have you read my earlier works? The writing is horrible…childish! Vindicated on the first go round was pretty bad too, but I got into the angst style and that's what happened (nod nod) I read too much and I think too much…it's a thinking thing….plus I have like no life whatsoever so this is how I occupy my time!

**VanillaPudding:** Neji is sweet! He just doesn't like to show it that often in the manga! I sent u an email with the bored cow face picture I hope that worked (heart)

* * *

Kankurou and Temari went home as fast as they could after school, stopping at the store first to get little things they thought their brother might like and be able to keep down. When they walked out of the store they each had bags of multiple types of soups and other food items they thought their brother might enjoy and keep down. Their father's car wasn't in the driveway when they walked up to the house. Both grew angry at the thought of him leaving Gaara alone and hurried inside. Temari said she was going to make some of the soup and Kankurou went upstairs.

Opening the door to his father's room as quietly as he could, he peeked in, thankful that he saw somewhat what he expected to see.

Neji was sitting behind Gaara on the bed, his arms wrapped defensively around Gaara's chest. Gaara was sleeping soundly; his head slumped down from lack of support, leaning slightly on Neji's arm. His own arms were lying loosely on the bed next to Neji's legs.

Neji's head rolled lazily towards the door as Kankurou opened it the rest of the way. He blinked sleepily and smiled.

"Hey."

"Thought you might be here," Kankurou said. "Where's my dad?"

"Left. Bastard."

"Don't I know it," Kankurou scoffed. There was a paused then, Kankurou gave him a worried look. "He wasn't gone when you got here was he?"

"No," Neji said. "He left a bit after I got here." Neji made a noise then sighed, shifting as much as he dared. "He's asleep isn't he?"

"Like a baby," Kankurou said, carefully sitting on the edge of the bed. Frowning, he reached out and brushed Gaara's cheek. Finding dampness, he looked up at Neji. "Why was he crying?"

"Cause your father's an asshole," Neji snapped.

"Don't I know it," Kankurou repeated.

He reached out and gently shook Gaara's shoulder, calling his name softly. Neji couldn't see Gaara's face, but saw Kankurou smiled as Gaara shifted and apparently opened his eyes.

"Come on," Kankurou said, holding his arms out.

As the weight, light as it was, was lifted off him, Neji stretched, trying wake up his sleeping legs. Kankurou carried Gaara out of the master bedroom to the family bathroom off the hall. Neji followed, but didn't turn into the bathroom. He continued to Kankurou's room when he sat on the bed and waited.

* * *

Gaara groaned sleepily as Kankurou sat him down on the toilet. He let Kankurou slip his shirt off and waited, eyes closed, as his brother examined all of his bandages and bruises. Kankurou smiled as Gaara placed his elbow on the sink to rest his sleepy head on his hand. Satisfied that nothing need to be changed or altered, Kankurou sat back and studied his brother, who was starting to fall asleep again. He seemed fine and recovering quickly, but Kankurou wasn't so sure. 

"Are you _sure_ nothing's broken?" he asked.

Gaara sleepily held up his left arm.

Kankurou couldn't help but shake with anger at the thought of this. Their father had made him hold Gaara down as he set the bone. Gaara had been terrified and even the warning of not to make a noise from their father couldn't keep the red head from crying out in pain.

"I know your arm's broken, but dad set it right?"

Gaara nodded, barely hearing what he was saying.

"I mean here," Kankurou persisted, pointing vaguely around Gaara's chest area.

There was no response.

"Gaara, wake up," Kankurou called, smiling slightly.

Gaara in took a breath sharply and sat up straighter, blinking stupidly, giving Kankurou a questioning look.

"Does anything hurt here?" he repeated, pointing around Gaara's chest.

Gaara shook his head.

"Not at all? Does it hurt to breath or anything?"

Another shake.

"Can you move around comfortably?"

Gaara shook his head. "Where bandages… hurt…" he mumbled sleepily.

Kankurou smiled, relieved. "Ok, good. Temari's making you soup."

"Wha' kind?"

"Chicken and stars I think."

"Yay…" Gaara cheered in a pathetically sleepy voice.

Kankurou smiled at him then sat down on the edge of the bathtub. Gaara's head started nodding again. Kankurou watched him closely, then sighed heavily and looked at him in concern.

"Gaara, why were you crying?"

"I wasn't!" Gaara cried, suddenly fully awake.

Kankurou stared at him evenly then got up and helped him put his shirt back on, not saying anything. Gaara stared down at the tiled floor for a moment.

"He—he said I was a worthless piece of shit," Gaara mumbled quietly.

Kankurou paused in his movements but didn't say anything.

"He said that Neji was an idiot for wanting to be near something as disgusting as—as me."

As he spoke, his voice broke and tears welled up in his eyes. Kankurou wrapped his arms around Gaara and hugged him tightly. Gaara did the same, burying his face in Kankurou's shirt.

"He—he told Neji how p—pathetic I am! I didn't want Neji to know that! I didn't want him to think that! Neji'll hate me now!"

Kankurou gently rubbed his brother's back as the boy cried, trying to calm him with soft words.

* * *

"He—he told Neji how p—pathetic I am! I didn't want Neji to know that! I didn't want him to think that! Neji'll hate me now!" 

Neji moved away from the wall that divided Kankurou's room from the bathroom. He slumped down to the floor against Kankurou bed and covered his face with his hands, anger boiling up inside him. He wanted to run into the room next door and hug Gaara. Hold him and tell him that he wasn't pathetic, or a worthless piece of shit. Tell him that he thought Gaara was perfect and he would always think that. He was so mad at Gaara's father that compared to Itachi the Uchiha was his best friend. He half wanted the man to come home so that he could storm down and beat the man like he beat Gaara.

He hadn't realized the pressure he was putting on his own face out of anger until Temari came in and touched his arm. He looked up at her concerned face, then back down at his knees.

"You really care for Gaara don't you?" she asked.

Neji nodded. "How could that…monster…do that to Gaara?" he demanded, keeping his voice to a low hiss. "Why does Gaara think he's so pathetic?"

"Because that's what—"

"His father tells him," Neji finished, not even sure why he asked the question.

"Neji…" Temari started, setting the bowl of soup she's been holding on Kankurou's nightstand. She sat down next to him. "Gaara really likes you too. I've never seen him so comfortable with someone other then Kankurou or me. But…as much as he likes you…he's just as much afraid of you."

"Why is he afraid of me?" Neji asked, mortified by the thought.

"He's afraid of your rejection," Temari said. "That's why he always tries to hold back when you ask him questions and gets upset when you push. He wants more then anything to be able to get away from that fear and trust you, but he loves you so much that he's afraid you'll push him away if you knew everything."

"I'd never do that!" Neji insisted.

"I know that, and Kankurou knows that. And Gaara wants to believe that, but, Neji, he's had so many problems with friends that it's hard for him."

"Those people weren't friends," Neji said darkly. "They were bastards that need to _burn_."

"Yeah, I know," she said. "Trust me, the ones Gaara told Kankurou about paid for what they did, but you have to understand, Gaara doesn't even tell Kankurou everything that happens. When bad things happen, he usually just smiles it off and pretends everything is alright, but we can tell it's not. He wont tell; he doesn't want Kankurou to worry about it. As much as he loves being with Kankurou, he doesn't want Kankurou's life to revolve around his needs. He wants Kankurou to have fun, and enjoy himself. It's the same with you."

Neji looked down, thinking this over, but looked up as the door opened again and Kankurou and Gaara came in. Gaara's eyes were dry, but they were red and slightly puff from crying.

As Kankurou placed him on the bed, Neji instantly got up and sat down next to Gaara, wrapping his arms around him, hugging him tight, biting his lip as he did. Gaara blinked in surprise and looked sideways at Neji, but all he could see was the blackness of Neji's hair.

Kankurou and Temari exchanged a knowing glance before turning and leaving, letting the two be alone. Gaara stared after them in surprise, completely unsure of what to do.

"N—Neji…what's—"

"Gaara…" Neji started, his voice uneven. "Gaara, I love you…no matter what h—happens or—or what _anyone_ says, understand?"

Gaara started and tried to pull away from Neji. "Neji, don't cry!" he said worried. "D—don't cry, please."

Neji held him closer, not letting him go. "I can't help it!" Neji cried, tears dripping down onto Gaara's shoulder. "I don't think you're worthless and you're hardly pathetic. I love you so much…please understand that and believe me!"

Gaara bit his lip as it trembled and buried his face into Neji's hair, tears forming in his own eyes. His arms slowly went around Neji and hugged him.

"I believe you, Neji."

* * *

"I think I'm gonna cry," Temari said, her ear pressed against the door to Kankurou. 

Kankurou smiled at her then sat down against the door, waiting. As many horrible things their father had ever done to them, He had done one good thing: bringing them here to the Konoha district. As bad as things were, they were starting to slowly change from black to grey, slowly coming into colors neither of them had seen in a long time.

They waited another silent ten minutes then quietly opened the door again.

Both boy's had fallen asleep in each other's arms. Neji hadn't slept much the previous night and his immovability earlier had tired his body. Gaara was just plain exhausted and still in pain; he must have just let his body shut down for a while.

Smiling at the two on the bed, the two older siblings snuck into the room and went up to them, gently separating them.

* * *

"Ino-chan, I'm worried!"

"Why's that?"

"Gaara-chan was not in school again," Haku stated not caring how loud he was being. It was an open street. He could be as loud as he wanted.

"Maybe he's sick," Ino suggested, swinging her purse a little.

Haku paused a moment. "Something tells me he isn't," he said shortly.

"Then maybe he skipped," she said. "What does it matter?"

Haku didn't answer, keeping his pouting face on while inside he thought it out in his head. Gaara missed school a lot. Unfortunately, he did seem like the kind of person to get sick easily, but his confrontation with Kankurou in the bathroom made him start to doubt that. Unknowingly, his guesses were starting to near the truth, but to him, the thought of the three having problems at home was a wild guess and he dismissed it.

He said good bye to Ino as she turned to go into her work then continued on down the street. As he walked he noticed a familiar lavender haired boy coming out of a 7/11 with a bag of cigarettes in his hand. Frowning in determination, Haku stormed over to the unexpecting older twin.

"UKON!"

Ukon jumped three feet in the air and whirled around to face who ever had screamed his name, clutching his bag tight.

"IT WASN'T ME! I SWEAR! I'M INNOCENT! I—Haku—?"

"You are gonna tell me what I want to know! Or you will suffer a slow and creative death!" Haku glowered, grabbing the front of his shirt and slamming him against the wall of the store.

Ukon broke out in cold sweat. "Huh?"

"Don't gimme that! I know you know! And you're gonna tell me!"

Ukon whimpered and held his hands up. "Ok-ok-ok-ok! Please don't hurt me!" he cried. He looked at Haku's glowering expression, the looking away. "Sakkon!" he whined in a high pitched voice, loud enough for the entire street and the next one over to hear him.

"Oh, no! Don't you go calling your brother for backup!" Haku said. "You and Kankurou are friends and drug buddies! He must have told you _something_!"

Ukon's franticness died and he looked back at Haku. "Oh, it's that," he said, calmly. He knocked Haku's hands away and crossed his arms. "Look, Haku—"

"Their father hurts Gaara-chan, doesn't he?"

Ukon's eyebrow raised and he turned and walked away, heading towards the red truck where his brother was waiting. Haku stormed after him until Ukon reached the car and turned to him.

"Do you know you're annoying?"

"Do you know child abuse is illegal?"

Ukon opened the truck door and sat down, but didn't shut it. He just sat in thought, then glanced at his brother, who shrugged.

"It's not for me to tell," Ukon said, finally.

"I'm right though, aren't I? That's why Gaara-chan comes to school every day with bruises and limps and—and bandages," Haku said. The thought of it all hurt him inside, and it was starting to show on the outside.

"Doesn't matter if you're right, don't tell anyone," Ukon said.

"Why not? If he is, he has to be stopped!"

"Don't you think they've tried?" Ukon said, his voice rising to a shout. "You think Kankurou hates his brother so that he doesn't try to stop him? You selfish idiot!" With that he slammed his door shut and asked Sakkon to go.

Haku watched the truck drive away. Kankurou didn't hate his brother. He knew that. The missing pieces of his puzzle slowly came together. Kankurou had wanted to get Gaara away from the house. Kankurou had tried to help Gaara run away, trusting him to get Gaara away. He had brought Gaara back to that house and let Kankurou down.

Turning sadly, he stepped back onto the side walk and slowly walked down the street again.

What a horrible person he was.

* * *

Gaara yawned as he opened his eyes, mentally noting how much he had been sleeping that day. It was day right? He glanced over at the window and saw the blinds and shade pulled down to make the room almost completely black, but some of the daylight was shining in from their cracks. The room was dark, but the dim light was on Kankurou's nightstand next to his head lighting the room enough for comfort. 

He wondered where Kankurou was. Maybe downstairs eating or something. Or talking to Temari. When had he fallen asleep? He remembered waking up with Kankurou in the bathroom then being taken into his brother's room and talking to and crying with Neji.

Neji.

Where was Neji?

Gaara turned his head and glanced over, towards where Kankurou slept all the time. Kankurou wasn't sleeping there though, it was Neji.

Gaara suppressed a startled gasp and looked away, blushing. Then slowly glanced back and stared at him.

Neji was sleeping on his side, facing him. The covers were pulled up to his shoulders, one hand under his pillow, the other tucked under his cheek. His face was at complete peace, eyes closed, his mouth partly open. His raven hair was spread around him, on the pillow, falling down in his face. Gaara could help but do anything except stare. To Gaara, Neji looked like a sleeping angel that would disappear any second and be gone forever.

With a hesitant, shaking hand, he reached up and, barely brushing Neji's skin, pushed the strands of hair off his face. Gaara smiled when Neji didn't disappear. He slowly and carefully rolled over on his side so he was facing him too. He brushed aside a few other hairs and smiled as Neji shifted in his sleep, meeting his fingertips and allowing him to gently touch his face. Gaara rested his head back on his pillow and pulled his hand back, silently watched him sleep.

* * *

"You get the door," Kankurou said. 

"I'm cooking, you get the door," Temari said.

"I'm cooking too, you get the door," Kankurou said.

"Gaara probably isn't awake yet," Temari said. "You don't need to make him anything."

"It's got his medicine in it," Kankurou said, glaring sideways at her. "He wont take it any other way and he needs to take it at a certain time."

"So that's how you've been getting it down him," Temari muttered. "But seriously, you don't need to watch soup cook. I'm making stir fry."

Kankurou gave a snort of dissatisfaction and went through the dining room to the front door. However, his father, looking pissed that no one had answered the door and he had to come out of his room to answer it, beat him to it.

"Can I help you?" he asked, who ever had knocked.

"Um…Would it be ok, if I talked to Kankurou for a minute?"

"He's got a girl friend already," his father scoffed and started to close the door.

"I'm not his girlfriend…I'm not even a girl."

It took all of Kankurou's will power not to bust out laughing as his father paused and slowly opened the door again and stared at the boy standing in the doorway. What he ended up doing was nearly doubling over and loosing his balance then lean on the table for support while covering his mouth.

"That's Haku, dad," Kankurou said, regaining his composer.

His father turned towards him with the strangest look on his face, obviously not totally convinced that Haku was indeed a boy. He stepped back and let Haku walk in, then turned and walked upstairs, then paused.

"We're eating dinner soon," he stated.

"I wont be here long," Haku said, flashing on of his nicest smiles.

His father gave him another weird look then shook his head and continued up the stairs. Haku stayed where he was staring at Kankurou's feet instead of Kankurou himself. Kankurou crossed his arms and leaned against the table, waiting.

"What's up?" he asked.

"I—I came to apologize," Haku said quietly.

Kankurou frowned. "What for?"

"For bringing Gaara back here," Haku said even quieter. "You were trying to help Gaara and I let you down."

Kankurou nodded and sighed, realizing that Haku knew the truth, or had guessed the truth. "Did Ukon tell you?" he asked.

"No, I figured it out on my own," Haku said. "I tried to get Ukon to confirm it, but he wouldn't tell me anything. B—but I'm not stupid, Gaara comes to school ever day looking like he'd just gotten in a fight, and Gaara doesn't seem the type to fight anyone. I shouldn't have brought him back, and I'm really, really sorry."

"I forgive you," Kankurou said, giving him a small grin. "Thanks."

"How's Gaara?" Haku asked, still staring at the ground.

"He's fine; he's sleeping upstairs," Kankurou said. "Neji's up there with him."

Haku flinched and Kankurou saw a glare with a twitching expression flash on his face, before it returned to normal and he smiled. "I'm glad he's ok," he said.

"You wanna go up and see him?" Kankurou asked, smiling.

"I don't want to wake him up," Haku said, edging towards the door.

"Nah, I have to wake him up anyway to take medicine," Kankurou said. "Stay there, I'll be right back."

He turned and went back into the kitchen and scooped out two mugs of soup, dropping the medicine in one. Picking them both up, he went back to where Haku was waiting for him. He told Haku to follow him and went up the stairs and over to his room. Handing one of the mugs to Haku, he silently opened the door and went in, Haku following close behind.

He set the mug down on his end table and leaned over to look at Gaara's face. He smiled when the smaller boy turned his head slightly and finally looked away from Neji.

"Oh, good, you're already awake," he said. "You have company," he added moving away so Gaara could see Haku.

Gaara blinked in surprise. "Hi, Haku," he said, turning over on his back.

"Hi," Haku said, swallowing hard when he saw Gaara's face and the shape he was in. He forced a smile on his face. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Gaara said, smiling as well.

His smile made Haku's sad thoughts brighten for a moment and his smile became real. "How's Neji, is he sleeping too?" Haku asked.

Gaara nodded looking over at the Hyuga.

"Here, I want you to eat this," Kankurou said, taking the mug from Haku and holding it out for Gaara.

"What's that one for?" Gaara asked, nodding at the mug on the end table as Kankurou helped him sit up.

"Neji."

"Why can't I eat that one?"

"Cause I said so," Kankurou said, holding the mug out for him again.

"There's something in this one isn't there?" Gaara asked, disgust clear on his face.

"Of course," Kankurou said. "I'll be back in a sec'." He turned and started out, but stopped and leaned over to Haku. "Watch him like a hawk."

"Ok," Haku said, smiling. He went over and sat on the bed by Gaara's feet as Gaara sniffed the soup in his mug and looked suspiciously at it, then glanced over at Neji's. "Taking medicine when you're not sick can be very bad for you," Haku said, reading his mind. "You shouldn't be able to taste the medicine in the soup though."

"I still don't like it," Gaara mumbled.

Next to him, Neji yawned and stretched, sitting up and blinking stupidly, looking like a zombie. "Mnn….what time is it?" he asked, pushing his hair back off his face, only for it to fall right back where it had been.

"Five thirty," Haku said, glancing at his watch.

Neji gave him a weird look, then frowned glancing around the room. "Where am I?"

"Kankurou's room," Gaara told him, finally decided to sip the warm soup.

Neji shook himself and seemed to wake up more, then turned to him. "Oh, hey," he smiled at him. "Sorry, didn't mean to fall asleep."

"It's ok, I fell asleep too," Gaara said, smiling too.

Haku gave Neji a look, as though daring him to do something in front of him, but Neji isn't really all there when he first wakes up and didn't notice him at all. Neji yawned again and laid back down, wrapping his arms around and snuggling against Gaara, who flinched in embarrassment and blushed darkly. Gaara continued to swallow his soup until it was all gone, then set it down and leaned back against the back board, playing with Neji's hair. A sleepy smile spread across the Hyuga's face as Gaara's thin fingers ran through his hair.

Haku couldn't hide his jealous, twitching glare anymore and crossed his arms. He had long silky black hair too, damn it!

"Neji, does your uncle know you're here?" Haku asked, suddenly.

Neji popped right back up and frowned. "Oh crap," he muttered. Frowning still, he looked over at Haku and blinked. "When'd you get here?"

"Five minutes ago," Haku said.

"Is it really five thirty?" he asked.

"Five thirty-two," Haku corrected.

Neji groaned and Gaara looked at him in concern. "Hey, I gotta go, ok?" he said to Gaara.

"That's ok," Gaara said hurriedly. "I don't want you to get in trouble."

Neji slid out from under the covers and went around the bed. He picked up his back pack and slung it over his shoulder, then sat on the edge of the bed next to Gaara. He reached up and touched his cheek.

"You ok?"

Gaara gave him a small smile and nodded.

"Good," Neji said, smiling too. He leaned in and the two shared a kissed for a moment then Neji pulled away and ran his hand down Gaara's cheek and stood. "Bye. Bye Haku."

"Bye Neji," Gaara called, smiling slightly giddily at the kiss.

"Bye," Haku said through clenched teeth.

Gaara glanced at Haku as Kankurou's door clicked shut after Neji. "Haku?"

"Yes," Haku asked, smiling pleasantly at him.

"What's wrong?" (dense as a rock)

"Nothing, Gaara-chan," he replied. "But, I have to go now too. My mom is expecting me back for dinner."

"Oh, ok," Gaara said, giving him a smile. "Um…thanks for coming over."

"Oh, you're welcome," Haku said, cheerfully. "See you later." He waved then hurried out the door, leaving Gaara sitting alone in the room.

* * *

Despite the worry and protests from both Neji and his siblings, Gaara thought it best that he go to school. His father had allowed him three days of peace at home, but said he had to go back to school on the fourth. Kankurou and Neji had sat down and started coming up with a plan around that, but Gaara had quietly said that he felt better and wanted to go to school. 

Neji was keeping an annoyingly close watch on him the whole time they were walking to school and on their way to the nurse to get her permission for Gaara to leave class five minutes early so that he would have time to get to each of his classes. Though Gaara seemed up set about his constant worrying, Neji could tell Gaara was quite glad of his accompaniment to the nurses office. The lady kept asking Gaara questions, especially about his previous visit, and how he was doing now. Gaara was so nervous he'd slip and say something wrong that he ended up falling to pieces in a shaking, stammering fit. Neji had stepped in and told the nurse that they need to go.

"I'm only doing my job," she said, indignately.

"Well, you're being awfully nosey about it," Neji snapped angrily. "We nee to get his make up work and stuff before the bell rings, could you hurry up please?"

Gaara had scurried after Neji as they left the room looking shocked. He hadn't known Neji could sound so harsh. He thanked Neji for his help, but the Hyuga simply shrugged it off smiling, taking Gaara's side bag from him and slinging it over his shoulder and led him to his first class.

Genma looked mildly surprised to see them both walk into his class. He was still somewhat mad at Neji for missing so many practices, but forgot it when he saw Neji helping Gaara sit down in his seat.

"Gaara-kun, are you alright?" he asked in concern.

"I'm ok," Gaara said quietly as Neji set his bag on the floor next to him and pulled up and chair to sit with him.

"Are you sure? You don't look ok," Genma said as he approached them. "What happened to your arm?"

"I—I f—fell—"

"He's fine coach," Neji insisted, leaning on the desk with Gaara. "He fell down the stairs at my house."

Gaara shot him a thankful look then fumbled in his pocket and held two pieces of paper out to him. Genma took them and glanced at them. He handed the blue one back and nodded.

"I'll give you the make up work and homework before you leave," he said, with a nod. "Let me sign this now and give it back to you."

He took the absent note up to his desk and filled out a piece of paper and signed his name then handed the new paper to him. "Just get your teachers to sign it as usual and you'll be fine."

Gaara gave him a nod then pocketed the paper. Neji smiled at him as Gaara laid his head down near his elbow and relaxed. Neji put his head down too, placing a gentle hand on Gaara's head, gently running his fingers through the red locks.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly.

"I'm kinda tired," he murmured back, closing his eyes for Neji's comforting touch.

"Did you sleep ok last night?" Neji asked.

"I donno…" was the quiet reply. "I can't remember."

"It's ok, you—"

"Gaara?"

The two boys looked up at Genma as he approached them with a small blue slip in his hand.

"The principle would like to see you in her office," Genma said, dropping the note on the desk. "As soon as possible, apparently."

Gaara and Neji exchanged a look then Gaara slowly got up and headed for the door. Neji trailed behind him, carrying his backpack for him. He said good bye to Genma and hurried after Gaara.

"W—why would the—the principle w—wanna talk to me?" Gaara asked, nervously poking his fingers together.

"I donno," Neji said shrugging as they walked in silence to the principle's office.

Neji knocked on the door sharply and the two waited until it was open.

"Hello there, can I help you?" The principle asked.

Neji stared, not meaning to. The first thought that ran through his mind was _'How does she fit her chest in her shirt?'_ He blushed slightly and looked away.

"Um…Gaara has a pass to come see you," he said, motioning behind him where he was sure Gaara was hiding.

"Oh, yes," she said smiling broadly. "Come in." She opened the door wider for them. Neji entered, glancing around while Gaara tailed him. She frowned, glancing at Neji. "Hyuga Neji, yes? The soccer player?"

Neji nodded.

"Pleased to meet you," she said. "I've seen you play. However, I need to speak to Gaara alone for a minute or two. You can wait outside if you want, but I don't know how long we'll be."

"Oh…" Neji glanced back at Gaara, who had started biting at his sleeve. He gave him a forced smile that said he couldn't think of a way around this and started towards the door. "I'll wait outside," he whispered as he passed him.

Gaara watched him close the door behind him, then turned back to the principle, looking like a lost puppy. She was smiling kindly, but it didn't make him feel any better. He could feel his legs shaking, turning into jelly. He stood in the middle of the office until she motioned for him to sit. He hurried to do so; he didn't think his legs could hold him for much longer.

"My name is Tsunade, Gaara, and I've called you down here to talk to you about something very important."

"What?" Gaara asked quietly.

"Well, you see, our records show that you've been missing quite a lot of school on a regular basis. Our rules say that if you have a certain amount of absences, our teachers cannot pass you for the year," she said. "Unfortunately, you have missed nearly double the amount allowed. You have brought in a note for each time you've missed a day, but it's getting to be a bit too much."

She sighed and sat back, watching Gaara's arms tense up and his fingers fiddle nervously with his sleeves.

"N—not pass?" he asked in a shaking voice. His terrified look startled her.

"Who is it that decides whether or not you are able to go to school?" she asked, continuing her kind voice.

"M—my brother, K—Kankurou," Gaara stammered quietly.

"Where's your father?" she asked.

"We—we don't s—see him in the—the morning…"

"I see…" she paused in thought then turned to him. "I think I'd like to talk to him, do you know what class he has first period?"

"English t—twelve…w—with K—Kurenai-s—sensei," Gaara said quietly. He mentally smacked himself for stuttering so much. Why couldn't his voice just stay even? She could probably see everything he was hiding. He hoped she didn't ask him anything, he wouldn't be able to lie.

"Wait here for me, ok? I'll be right back," she said as she stood and walked out of the room.

The second she was gone, Gaara jumped up and ran to the door to see if Neji was there waiting for him. Of course he was, and looked at Gaara with concern when the red head poked his head out.

"You ok?" he asked.

"I—I donno…" Gaara mumbled, biting his sleeve. "She—she's going to g—get Kankurou. She w—wants to talk to him."

Neji frowned in thought as he reached out and took Gaara's hand away from his mouth, then glared as the bell rang for first period to begin. He leaned against the wall by the door, glaring at the official people around him, mentally daring them to tell him to go to class. No one could tell him to go to class!

"N—Neji, shouldn't you go to class?" Gaara asked quietly.

Neji's eye twitched. Ok…maybe Gaara could tell him. "I told you I'd wait outside, so I'm gonna wait," Neji replied, crossing his arms.

"B—but you'll get in t—trouble!" Gaara cried quietly. "K—Kankurou's coming I'll be fine."

"You don't sound fine, Gaara," Neji said, turning to face him. "You're stuttering a lot more then you have been in the past few days."

"I'm sorry," Gaara said, hanging his head. He knew how much Neji hated when he stuttered; almost as much as Kankurou did, but he couldn't help it. He was nervous about returning to school when he was still having trouble getting around and the principle's talk only made it worse. "I—I'm just…"

"Nervous?" Neji finished for him. "Don't be, ok? It'll all work out fine, I promise."

He kissed Gaara's forehead and pulled him close. Gaara fell into his embrace. He was surprised to find himself liking this more every time it happened. Neji was pleasantly surprised when Gaara nuzzled his face into his shirt, smiling to himself. Their embrace was short though. One of the officers came up to them and told Neji to get to class unless he was here to see a guidance councilor. Neji sighed sadly and broke away from Gaara.

"I'll see you in second period ok?" he whispered quietly.

"Ok," Gaara whispered back, watching him leave until he disappeared through the office door. He pulled himself back into the office and sat down on the chair, swinging his dangling feet nervously as he waited for Tsunade to return.

* * *

Kankurou smiled happily as he walked into his first period class. Kyu was sitting at her desk waiting for him. They had just sat down and started talking when a woman walked in and addressed their teacher. 

"Kankurou!" Kurenai called from the front.

Kankurou and Kyu looked up in surprise.

"Come here please."

Kankurou stood and walked to the front where the two were waiting for him.

"This is Principle Tsunade; she would like to speak with you in her office."

"Ok," Kankurou said, shrugging and stuffing his hands in his pockets.

As he followed Tsunade out, he glanced back at Kyu who gave him a questioning look. He merely shrugged back and followed the woman out of his class room to her office. As they entered the office, Kankurou was surprised to see Gaara already there, looking horribly apprehensive, but relieved to see him. Tsunade motioned for him to sit next to his brother as she went around, taking her good old time, to her desk. While she was sorting through some papers on her desk, Kankurou leaned down to Gaara.

"What's going on?" he muttered.

"I—I d—donno," was the reply.

Kankurou frowned down at him. He could hear the suppressed panic in his voice. Gaara didn't know what was going on and he was afraid he was in trouble and didn't know what he did. Kankurou noted, though pretending not to show it, that Gaara was inching towards him, trying to hide himself, while still sitting. He gave Gaara a small smile of reassurance then both boys looked up at Tsunade.

"Kankurou," she said finally, addressing him. "Gaara tells me that you make the decisions of when you or your two siblings is too sick to come to school, because you're father isn't around in the morning."

Kankurou nodded, frowning slightly.

"Do you know our absence policy in this district?"

Kankurou's eyebrow went up. There was an absence policy? "Um…no…"

"The district rules state that if a student is absent for more then nine times they are subject to fail," she said shortly. "Our records show that your brother, Gaara has been absent over fourteen times since you transferred to the school."

Kankurou winced slightly at this. He hadn't known it was that many. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gaara start chewing nervously on his sleeve. _'Damn it…'_ he frowned in thought. If Gaara failed it would be the devil to pay at home. Cursing, Kankurou glanced over at Gaara again. He was still no where near being completely healed from the happenings if last week and he knew his father would care about that if a note was sent home about this.

Gaara glanced up at him as well, giving him a nervous, yet questioning look. Kankurou glanced down at his sleeve and cleared his throat to get him to take it out of his mouth. Gaara chewed instead on his lip. He knew exactly what would happen if their father found out about this.

"…is there anyway around this?" Kankurou asked, making his voice sound more professional and grown up.

"I highly doubt it," Tsunade said shaking her head sadly. "I wish I could bypass this, but fourteen is a lot of missed days."

"He's brought in a note every time he's been out," Kankurou reminded her, "and he's made up all his missing work in the time his teacher's have given him."

"Yes, yes, that's true, but it's the district's policy and I have to follow it," she said.

Gaara glanced up at Kankurou as his older brother paused in thought.

"What if…what if instead of punishing him, you punished me instead?" Kankurou ventured.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and Gaara started in surprise.

"It's my fault anyway," Kankurou said. "I made Gaara stay home all those days because I didn't think he was well enough to go to school. Please don't punish him for my bad judgment."

"You—you don't have to do that, Kankurou!" Gaara cried suddenly. "I don't want you to get in trouble because of me! I don't want to be a—"

"Gaara…" Kankurou said quietly, but sternly. He didn't need Gaara to say that now. He wasn't a burden to him. Even if he was, he didn't mind carrying it. Tsunade was surprised when Gaara instantly obeyed and sat back, still looking upset on the matter. "What do you think?" Kankurou finally asked Tsunade.

"I'll see if I can find a way around this and I'll get back to you," she said finally. She closed her eyes and thought for a moment. "Yes, I'll get back to you on this. Please go back to your classes."

Kankurou thanked her, stood and walked out of the office. Gaara picked up his side bag and hurriedly limped after him.

"Kankurou, you didn't have to do that," he said quietly.

"I know, but I wanted to," Kankurou said smiling. "How do you feel?"

"Ok, I guess…"

"How's your arm?"

"Still hurts a lot," was the whispered reply.

"Lemme look at it," Kankurou said, leading him into an area where there was least likely to be people randomly walking by. He pulled Gaara's sleeve up and held up the makeshift cast where his father had set the broken bones. Everything was still intact and seemed to be healing nicely from what Kankurou could see.

"Kankurou?"

"Hm?"

"What if she can't find a way around the absences?" it was barely spoken. Green orbs filled with fear stared up at him.

"We'll worry about that when we get to it, alright?" Kankurou said, smiling reassuringly.

"B—but…i—if dad finds out…he'll be mad, c—cause I wasn't s—supposed to st—stay home a—and—"

Kankurou took both of Gaara's shoulder tightly and made him look him in the face. "Gaara, calm down," he said softly. "I don't want you to have a panic attack in the middle of school ok? Don't worry about it…we'll find a way around this I promise."

"O—ok…"

"What time is it? You know?" Kankurou asked as he pulled Gaara's sleeve down.

"Um…" Gaara looked up at the clock hanging on the ceiling. "Eight-forty."

"Time to go to second period," Kankurou muttered.

"I'm sorry."

Kankurou turned to him staring. "What the hell for?"

"You didn't get to talk to Kyu…" Gaara said quietly.

"Aw, don't worry about it," Kankurou said, placing a hand on Gaara's shoulder. "We can talk later. You needed my help. Here." Kankurou turned his back to him and knelt down. "Hop on I'll take you to your second period."

"You don't have to…"

"I know. Come on, when's the last time I gave you a piggy back ride?" Kankurou asked grinning over his shoulder.

Gaara stared at him then smiled happily and wrapped his good arm around Kankurou's neck. Kankurou stood, lifting him up as easily as if he wasn't carrying anything at all and put his arms around Gaara's legs and walked down the hall with him to the art wing. Gaara let his head rest on Kankurou's shoulders as he sighed.

"Hey Kankurou?"

"Hm?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, little bro."


	21. Brother's Stand

**Vindicated**

Chapter 21: Brother's Stand

**Sorry this took me so long I was in a state of depression...but JUNSUI KAGESU'S back! (glomps midori) yay! thank you all for your reviews, I dont think I've gotten this many reviews for one chapter before...21 for one chaptermwah! I love u all**

**Ebony:** yes Gaara's arm was broken. they didn't need to go to the hospital, you can set the bone urself it just hurts REALLY bad

**Dazja:** hee! tell mike I'm glad he likes the fic. (I'd make a smily face but doesn't let u) YES! I stalk u! BWAHAHAHAHA! (shifty eyes) lol

**Isis-amataeru:glomp: **hee! I'm so glad u came and read this fic! heh...jabs ur heart..u should see me when I'm writing it...I'm a mess

**The Troublesome Twins:** nyoh? the link didn't work? hm...hold on...I'll send it to u through email or something

**PsychoticDeath:** moosh I think I confused a bunch of people heh...it's not my bday...its just a special day cause it's finally completely new chapters for everyone to read...my bdays not till the end of this month...sadly...I love long chapters short chapters dont seem to have enough information in them...and I love writing details and information...if u cant tell...

**Shinobi Gaara:** (tackle glomps) where have u been honey? I've been waiting and waiting and you haven't been on and I've been SAD...actually I have no idea how I'm gonna get rid of kazebastard...but oh yes...he shall be got rid of...bwahahaha

**Narroch06:** yes sadly...that is the policy in my district. 9 excused absences and u fail, 5 unexcused and u fail...per quarter. it sucks I almost failed my senior year because of it...I was so mad...but my teachers miraculously loved my that year...and I make really good cookies...

**Junsui Kegasu:** ...YOU'RE BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK! I SO HAPPY! moosh and u just finished reading this chapter and I've giving u another...gomen...chapter 20 was NEVER up before yay! I'm sad...ur like hardly on since u got back so all this is new for u too except that one part. can't tell u about tsunade...gotta tell u through IM if I do hee!

* * *

Gaara saw Neji watching him keenly as he stepped into the art room for 2nd period. He was staring at him with an intense look that made Gaaralook at him questionally, thenNeji made a funny face that caused Gaara to giggle a little behind his hand. He gave his absent note to his art teacher then stumbled over to sit down next to Neji. 

"Everything ok?"

"Yes," Gaara replied.

Neji glared at him.

"…no?" Gaara said in a tiny voice.

Neji reached over and dragged Gaara, sitting in his chair over to his desk. "What's going on?" he asked.

Gaara gave him a brief summary of the happenings from the office. Neji listened intently. So intently, in fact, he didn't hear anything else around him. Gaara did though and instantly stopped talking, blushing darkly and staring at the floor. Neji blinked and asked what was wrong.

"Oh, my god, look at those two."

"Fags."

"That kid is like hardly ever in school. Why do you think?"

"I donno, but he always looks so dead and all beat up."

"What does Neji-kun see in him?"

"They're both weird."

"That kid's got bruises all over him."

"Hyuga's fault?"

"No! Neji-kun wouldn't do that!"

"He looks like one of those freaks that like self mutilation."

"Oh, my god, what a freak."

"You think he really hurts himself?"

"Shut up!" Neji shouted suddenly, slamming his fists down on his desk.

The whole class that was currently present (the bells hadn't wrung yet) jumped and fell instantly silent. Gaara had jumped too and wasnervously looking up at Neji in question. He hated seeing Neji mad and right now he look livid.

"You all got something intelligent to say, go ahead, but it sounds like fucking crap coming out of your mouths. In that case, shut the fuck up and leave us alone," Neji sat back, his arms crossed, and glared at them all, daring them to talk against his words. No one spoke. They weren't that stupid.

Neji and Gaara didn't say anything to each other the rest of the class period. Neji looked very angry and Gaara couldn't think of anything to say and was worried Neji would snap at him if he spoke. Gaara's pass allowed him and Neji to leave the class a few minutes early so Gaara made it down to his next class before the rushing crowds started. Neji leaned against the lockers as they waited for the bell to ring, looking deep in thought.

"Hey, Gaara?"

"Hm?"

"You wanna go somewhere tomorrow?" Neji asked casually, finding fascination in the ceiling tiles. "Like…maybe an all day thing?"

Gaara's face brightened a little. "Where?"

Neji grinned. "Secret," he told him. "But what do ya think?"

He saw Gaara's smile and returned it as Gaara replied, "Yes!"

"Alright," Neji said, reaching out a hand for Gaara to take.

"Where are we going?"

"Secret."

"But—"

"_Se-_cret."

Gaara slumped his shoulders a little then started chewing on his fingernail. "I'm sorry, Neji," he said quietly.

Neji started in surprise and turned to stare at him. "What for?" he cried, barely holding back the 'now what' in his voice.

"I—I …you were angry…"

"Not at you!" Neji insisted.

"But it's my fault," Gaara said, hanging his head. "I make you look bad."

"Oh, my god, Gaara, no!" Neji said quietly, reaching out and pulling him closer. "No, you don't! And even if you did, I wouldn't care!"

Gaara sighed slightly then looked up as the bell rang. Neji leaned down and kissed his forehead.

"I wont be able to come get you from this class, will you be ok?" he asked.

Gaara nodded and smiled as Nejihanded himhis bag then waved as he walked towards his own class on the other end of the school. When Neji was out of sight, lost in the mess of people and teachers moving to their classes, Gaara's smile dropped and he slowly reached down to pick up his bag.

He had tried not to let it show, but every time he moved something else hurt. His left side screamed in agony as he stood back up, but he ignored it and started for the door of his class.

* * *

Getting to class without anyone's help was more of a difficult task then Gaara had thought it would be. Though he left five minutes early, he had barely gotten down the stairs and stepped out into the hall way before the bell to let classes out rang. Frightened of the possible bumping and jostling, he pushed himself against the lockers and tried to move as fast as he could, but he was still bumped and jostled and was left with a biting pain and tears in his eyes. 

A hand reached out and landed heavily on his shoulder from behind. Gaara's knees bucked and he nearly fell.

"Hello there," said the familiar smooth talking voice that made Gaara's skin crawl.

"N—no…please….leave me alone, I d—don't feel g—good and I n—need to g—get to class," he whimpered out as the hand turned him around slowly.

"Nope, not right now you don't," Itachi said with a grin. He reached out and let his hand trail from Gaara's cheek, down his chest and around to his lower back to pull him closer.

Gaara's eyes widened and a dark blush crept across his cheeks. This was the middle of the hallway! People were starting to stare at them, pausing to whisper, or watching over their shoulders. The late bell was going to ring any minute, he was going to be late for sure now, but Itachi didn't seem to care as he began letting his hands roam around Gaara's waist, bringing his face closer.

"S—stop Itachi…please…I—I'm going to be—be late for class a—and Neji—"

"Is no where in sight," Itachi finished. "I don't like not getting what I want," he purred, "and I want you…and I'll get you. You're skipping class today."

"N—no I'm not!" Gaara cried, frightened. "I—"

Itachi stopped the beginnings of his ramble by pressing him against the lockers and connecting their waists like he had at the mall, grinning immensely at Gaara's whimpers and embarrassment. He ran his tongue from Gaara's neck to his ear then whispered softly.

"You're class has been moved to the bathroom today," he said. He jerked Gaara away from the locker wall and started maneuvering him towards the bathrooms on that floor. He laughed at Gaara's pathetic attempts to get away then suddenly leaned down to kiss him.

"No!" Gaara cried, forcefully, putting his good hand over Itachi's mouth as he was about to kiss him.

"Move your hand," Itachi commanded, holding Gaara still with one hand, the other going up to carry out his order.

"No! I don't want you to kiss me! I don't want to go with you! I don't like you! Leave me alone!" Gaara said angrily, not caring or thinking about the stares or watching eyes, or the fact that Itachi was getting more and more frustrated. He was not going to let him do this to him.

Gaara suddenly fell back as Itachi's grasp was suddenly pulled away. He fell against the lockers and slid to the floor, wincing in a horrible pain and wrapping his arms around himself to help bite back the cries that rose in his throat. Swallowing he looked up to see what had happened.

People were shouting and the crowd that had been staring was now cheering and jeering at something else. Teachers were trying to break through the crowd, quite unsuccessfully. Gaara felt panic rising in him as he suddenly felt caged and cornered but the people and noise, unable to get away. He stared at the floor along with everyone else, though he kept silent, shrinking against the lockers in fear.

Itachi and Kankurou were locked in a battle on the floor that could quite easily be labeled as a fight to the death. Bother were kicking, hitting and throwing each other around, yelling angry words and obscene names. Teachers were desperately trying to get in and break them up, but the crowd wouldn't let them anywhere near the bloody battle.

It was broken up, however, when Ukon and Sakkon decided they'd seen enough and rushed in and pulled the two apart. It was a harder task then it appeared, Itachi was angry and did not want to be beaten in a fist fight, however Kankurou was in a blinded rage and honestly looked like he would kill Itachi if Sakkon let go. In fact he was yelling at the younger twin to do so, his face was so scary looking that Gaara shrunk in terror. He hadn't even seen his father that angry before.

"Uchiha! ENOUGH!"

Itachi suddenly froze and backed off as Genma forced himself through the crowd, not caring if he knocked a few people down in the process. With his hold now under control, Ukon let go of Itachi and went to help his brother hold Kankurou back.

"Geez, man!" Ukon cried, his voice strained. "Chill out!"

"Let go of me! I'll fucking kill him!" Kankurou shouted, pulling against the twins.

Genma was yelling at Itachi as the teachers began ordering the students back to their classes. A few teachers went to Kankurou and began trying to get him calm. One went over to Gaara and began to tell him to get to class, then realized that he was 'involved' with the fight and ordered him to the office.

"No!" Kankurou cried suddenly, his attention pulled away from his anger at Itachi. "He didn't do anything!"

"He was involve—"

"No, he wasn't! Itachi was bothering him. I stopped him. End of Gaara's involvement!"

"I'm sorry, but he still needs to come down to the office with you and Uchiha," the teacher said apologetically.

Kankurou glanced down at his younger brother and saw the fear in his face. Fear of Itachi, fear of the teachers…fear of him. Kankurou relaxed so that the twins felt they could let go with out their friend making a dive for Itachi again. He went over to his brother and knelt down in front of him. He watched Gaara swallow hard and try to not look frightened.

"You ok?" he asked softly.

Gaara made a tiny jerking nod, then was helped up by the twins. The five students were escorted down to the office. Tsunade looked mildly surprised to see Kankurou and Gaara back and looked at them in curiosity as the five of them sat down (Sakkon and Ukon in the middle of the opposing sides). The two teachers that escorted them down explained that Kankurou and Itachi were fighting and Gaara was somehow involved and Ukon and Sakkon had pulled them apart.

Tsunade's eye brow raised and she sat back, surveying them calmly.

"The four of you please wait outside," she said finally. "I'd like to speak with Gaara."

Gaara started and shrank into his chair, looking wildly at his brother for any means of comfort or assurance, but Kankurou had none to give. He still looked angry and didn't seem to like the fact that Gaara was going to be alone. Gaara watched them get up and file out of the room to stand outside and wait.

When Tsunade came back after giving a few orders and shutting the door, Gaara was shaking horribly, he knees drawn up to his chest. She smiled at him and sat down on a chair in front of her desk. She folded her hands in her lap and watched him still smiling, as his eyes darted around the room, pausing briefly and nervously at her before darting to the floor.

"Your brother really cares about you doesn't he?" she asked softly.

Gaara nodded slightly, eyes focused on the floor.

"Are you afraid of me?"

Gaara paused, then slowly nodded again.

"Am I scary looking?"

Gaara's response was a small shaking of the head to indicate 'no'.

"You are afraid of grown ups?"

Gaara nodded slowly. Tsunade smile and nodded in an understanding manner, crossing her legs and reaching behind her to pull out a lollipop from her jar and sticking it in her mouth. She offered Gaara one, but he shook his head. He wasn't allowed to have sweets. If he was already in trouble, he didn't want to get in more.

"Itachi's a bully isn't he?" Tsunade asked after a moment's silence.

Gaara glanced up at her then looked down again, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with her.

"You can tell me if you think so," she said. "Hell, I'll tell _you_ something," she said, dropping the professional sound in her voice to try and make the small boy more comfortable. She leaned forward as if telling him a secret only he could hear. "You know Ibiki? I think he's your science teacher; well…he's a right annoying bastard. All military and stuff. He's a nice guy, but he's horrible to hang out with. I'll ask him a question and he's like 'yes, ma'am'…'no ma'am'…. 'I must disagree ma'am'….I got a name, don't you think he could use it? The bald Bigfoot…"

Gaara stifled a tiny laugh behind his hand. Tsunade smiled happily, and watched as he fiddled with his fingers behind his knees.

"I—Itachi…likes m—me…" Gaara said slowly, in a quiet voice, trying to keep his stutter minimum, but failing miserably. "B—but I d—don't like him a—and—and he tries t—to get me t—to l—like him t—too…"

"Ah…" Tsunade said slowly. "Itachi is jealous of Mr. Hyuga isn't he?"

With his face erupting in blush, Gaara hid his face in his hands and nodding slightly.

Tsunade sighed suddenly. "Listen to me for a minute, because this is very important. In the past I have gotten complaints about Uchiha Itachi, saying he forces people to date him and does what ever he wants to get his way. There's a rumor that Itachi's even hurt a few girls _and_ boys…sexually. However, it's just a rumor and I can't prove it." She sat back and looked at him evenly.

Gaara's nervousness turned into contained panic right before her eyes. His trembling turned to the shakings of a small earthquake and he looked to be on the verge of a panic attack. He tried to say something, but the only think that came out were merely the first words in his sentence before he stammered into the next one, his breathing becoming uneven.

"Gaara, it's ok, it's ok," she said softly, placing a gently hand on his shoulder. "Please tell me, what happened upstairs?"

"I—I was going t—to class…and I—Itachi stopped m—me," Gaara said after a moment's silence. "He…he wanted m—me t—to sk—skip class and g—go w—with him in—in the bathroom. Then K—Kankurou came a—and saw him and...he fought Itachi…"

"I see…" she said slowly. "Have you had any…other confrontations with Itachi?"

Gaara nodded slightly.

"What happened?"

Gaara told her about the trip to the mall and the happenings there. Tsunade listened intently, not saying anything and not bothered at all by his mumbles and stutter. She smiled when he told her what Haku did, then he got very quiet and began shifting nervously.

"Gaara, what Itachi did—or tried to do—was very wrong. I'm very sorry this happened to you," Tsunade said, closing her eyes.

"Um…w—will Kankurou get in trouble?" he asked in a tiny voice.

"Unfortunately, yes he will," Tsunade said sadly. "Fighting, no matter what the reason, is not allowed in this school. He will be suspended for a while. However, Itachi…" she stood and went back around to sit in her desk chair again, Gaara's eyes following her movements, "…Itachi will be expelled, for more then one reason. _This_ fell out of his pocket when he got up," she said, holding up a piece of paper folded many times so that it was the shape of a small triangle. Gaara had seen Sakura and Ino writing and folding notes like that, but he didn't understand why it was bad to have one. "Do you know what this is?"

Gaara shook his head.

Tsunade laid it down and carefully unfolded it. inside was a small pile of white powder, that Tsunade seemed determined not to touch.

"Do you know what _this_ is?" she asked. At Gaara's repeated shake, she stood and began pacing the room. "This is cocaine. It's a drug. A very bad drug and you know drugs are illegal in school, right?"

Gaara nodded, lost in thought as he suddenly remembered something. Kankurou went to school once or twice a week with at least five of those packets in his pockets. He stared at the creased paper and swallowed.

"Gaara?" Tsunade said quietly. "Would you sit outside with Ukon and Sakkon so that I can speak with your brother now?"

Gaara jumped up, glad to be out of the room and with someone he knew, and hurried to the door. The four boys were leaning, or sitting against the wall and all four pairs of eyes turned towards him as he stepped out.

"She wants to talk to you Kankurou," he said quietly as he shut the door.

Kankurou nodded and straightened from when he had been leaning and walked passed him, but not before pausing and looking at him up and down for signs of anything wrong. He gave Gaara a smile then slipped inside and shut the door.

Gaara swallowed and glanced at the three older boys he was now alone with. Itachi gave him a sly grin and nodded his head for Gaara to come over by him. Gaara swallowed and backed away, which didn't account formuch since he was already against the wall. Sakkon tugged Gaara's sleeve to pull him away from the Uchiha. The two twins had a long glaring contest with Itachi while Gaara hid behind Sakkon.

"Itachi, come in too please."

At Tsunade's voice Itachi also straightened and walked into the office. Kankurou didn't come out though and Gaara began shifting nervously, glancing up at the twins. Sliding down the wall, he met the floor and shifted, wincing slightly, until he found a comfortable position. He curled himself up in a ball and held hisbroken arm.

He wanted Kankurou to come out; he wanted Neji to be there; he wanted to go home.

**Flashback**

"_You greedy little brat!" his father screamed at him._

_Gaara cringed and coward away from his father's shouts, no longer wanting another cookie from the large plate on the counter._

"_You just want to eat everything in sight don't you? You think everything belongs to you! Don't you? ANSWER ME!"_

"_N—no! I'm sorry…I don't want a cookie anymore."_

"_Of course you don't! and you're not getting another one ever again! Understand?"_

"_No…" he replied honestly._

"_What?"_

"_Why can't I get a cookie ever?"_

"_Because you're greedy! You're too bad to have a cookie. Get out of the kitchen now!"_

**End Flashback**

He was being greedy again. He shouldn't want so much. Wanting was bad. He should just accept what he had. What did he have? Not much…

Gaara rested his head on his knees and sighed, waiting for Kankurou to come back out.

* * *

Ukon and Sakkon exchanged glances then looked down at Gaara. 

Kankurou hadn't told them what happened to Gaara, but they now saw that he was really hurt. He didn't seem worried about his brother being in the office, Tsunade must have told him the outcome already, but he looked upset and in pain. Neither of them were very good at comforting anyone other then each other and their own way was strange and abnormal. They also knew that Gaara was prone to freak out when touched by someone that wasn't very close to him, and was even more nervous then usual when he was deprived of his comfort factor.

Ukon stood back, quite satisfied with his twin telepathy. Sakkon knelt down next to Gaara and placed a hand on his back. Gaara flinched and jerked away nervously, watching the younger twin from behind the bangs that were falling in his face.

"Ukon and I don't have to stay here," Sakkon told him, his monotone voice a great contrast from Ukon's hyperactive one. "We can leave if you—"

"No!" Gaara cried in a sudden panic. "Don't—don't leave me…alone…please…"

"Ok, ok, we'll stay," Sakkon assured him. "Do you want anything? A drink or something to eat?"

Gaara shook his head, once again resting on his knees. Ukon frowned slightly, fully aware of Gaara's bad eating habits. At the moment he didn't look as thin as he usually did, Kankurou must have been giving him a lot to eat when he was out, but he was still to thin to feel comfortable.

Ukon knelt down as well, on Gaara's other side, and also placed a hand on Gaara's back. "How about, when Kankurou comes out, we ditch school for the day?" he suggested.

Gaara's head snapped up, eyes wide. "Sk—skip school?" he asked, fear present on his face. "B—but that's bad…"

"So? Lots of kids skip school," Ukon told him.

"B—b—but…" Gaara stopped, unable to put into words what he wanted to say.

He was spared the chance though, as the office door opened and Itachi and Kankurou stepped out, Kankurou looking slightly pleased while Itachi looked livid, glaring daggers at the taller boy then down at Gaara. Gaara flinched and inched closer to Ukon, Itachi's smooth sly grin was gone, replaced by a monstrous glare.

It's your fault.

Gaara swallowed and stared down at the floor as Kankurou helped him stand. Itachi walked down the hall to sit in the chairs outside the school officer's office. The four of them left the office and walked down the hallways together. Ukon and Sakkon were giving Kankurou sideways looks of curiosity the entire time. Kankurou didn't say anything as they stepped out of the building and out onto the school grounds.

"Oh, come on!" Ukon finally cried. "What happened?"

Kankurou laughed a little, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Suspended. Two weeks. Fighting's bad," he said in a mock voice.

"And Itachi?" Sakkon asked.

"Expelled," Kankurou replied, quite pleased with the fact.

Ukon cheered and Sakkon nodded with a small grin. Kankurou turned to Gaara who was trailing directly behind the three and put his arm around his shoulders.

"Good job, Gaara, I'm proud of you," he said, giving his shoulders a squeeze.

"What did I do?" Gaara asked looking up at him.

"You told Principle Tsunade what happened with you and Itachi," Kankurou told him, steering him onto the sidewalk. "Because of that, Itachi's in an enormous amount of trouble and the families of the other people he's bothered can press charges against him."

Ukon gave a low whistle. "That bastard's been terrorizing the student body since he was in middle school. It's about time he's got what's coming to him."

"B—but Kankurou…" Gaara said slowly as they crossed a street and continued down the sidewalk. "You got suspended…Dad…"

"Don't worry about it, Gaara," Kankurou said assuringly. "You wont get in trouble—"

"But you will!" he cried moving out from under Kankurou's arm. "He's gonna find out and you'll get in trouble and it's my fault!"

"It's not your fault," Kankurou said sternly, stopping as Gaara stopped.

"Yes, it is!"

"No, it's NOT!" Kankurou shouted, causing Gaara to cringe and Ukon and Sakkon to look slightly uncomfortable with the argument. "It is not your fault! Stop saying stupid shit like that!"

Gaara hung his head and stared at the ground. Kankurou sighed and started walking again.

"We're going home, I don't feel like hanging out," he said to Ukon and Sakkon, who nodded and crossed the street, somewhat glad to be away from the embarrassing silence. Kankurou turned away from his brother and started for their house.

"K—Kankurou—" Gaara stopped, but Kankurou didn't stop or say anything. "Kankurou!" he tried to hurry after him, but his stomach wrenched and he doubled over in pain. "Ow…" he murmured, clutching his stomach.

Kankurou got a full two blocks before he realized Gaara wasn't with him. Turning, he saw Gaara stumbling towards him, a hand on the fences that lined the yards at the edge of the sidewalk. Kankurou crossed him arms and tapped his foot impatiently.

"Hurry up!" he called.

"I can't!" Gaara said, his expression showing how upset he was.

"I'm not waiting for you!"

"B-but Kankurou—"

"Hurry up!"

"Why are you being so mean to me?" he cried, slumping down to his knees.

"Why are you whining so—" Kankurou stopped, hearing himself. Sighing, he stopped tapping his foot and waited for Gaara to come to him. His patience with his brother was dying, but he didn't want to be a complete arrogant bastard.

Gaara didn't look at him when he finally caught up with his brother. Kankurou didn't say anything either as they continued at a much smaller pace back to their house. When they got there, they both froze and stared at the parked car in the driveway. Kankurou automatically reached for his phone to check the time.

Their father was home nearly five hours early.

Swallowing he lead Gaara up the driveway and quietly opened the door. Gaara saw him first and automatically ducked behind his brother. Their father was sitting in the overstuffed chair in the living room looking thoroughly pissed.

"Suspended, Kankurou?" he said, angrily. "_Suspended_?"

"Sorry," Kankurou mumbled, shrugging slightly.

"And you were fighting again!" his father said standing.

"Look, I'm sorry!" Kankurou said, frustration from before leaking out in his words. "This bastard was hurting Gaara, what'd you expect me to do?"

Their father's eyes darted to the redhead peeking out from behind his brother. "That little shit needs to learn to take care of himself," he snapped angrily. "You spoil him! And look where it's got you!"

Kankurou glared at him. "He's got a name! You gave it to him! Don't fucking call him that!"

"I'll call him whatever I want. It suits him," was the calm, yet snobbish reply. "Doesn't it? Little shit?"

Gaara cringed and gave a tiny nod, scared to do anything else.

"Kankurou, you better get your ass down stairs now."

Kankurou stood back a little and sighed as a way to calm him self. He knew this would happen. He didn't really care though. A beating he could take. It was worth it to see Itachi's face when Tsunade held out the cocaine Itachi had bought from him that very morning.

Turning, he pushed past a horrified looking Gaara and went through the kitchen to the basement stairs. He paused when he heard Gaara start to say something, but his father told him to be quiet and go upstairs, then start for the basement himself.

* * *

Neji frowned slightly looking around the cafeteria. Kankurou was no where to be seen and Neji was sure he was here today; they had walked to school together. But the cafeteria was devoid of Kankurous at the moment. Neji sat down and opened his lunch bag, still looking around. 

"Hey Neji!"

Neji glanced over as Sasuke came over to sit as his table. He gave him a suspicious look. Sasuke rarely talked to anyone in school, but right now he looked ecstatic.

"Guess what happened!"

"What?" Neji asked humoring him.

"Itachi got expelled!"

Neji blinked. "What? What'd he do?"

"Got in a fight on the second floor," Sasuke told him, sitting back. "Dad's gonna be so mad! Ha! The other guy only got suspended!"

"Who?"

"That redhead kid—you're boyfriend's brother."

"Oh, my God! Are you serious? Over what?"

"I heard Itachi was messing with that kid…what's his name?"

Neji's eyes widened. "Gaara?"

"Yeah, Gaara, anyway, he was messing with him and all and Gaara's brother came around the corner and freaked. Started beating him up and you know how Itachi can't stand being bested in a fist fight," Sasuke said smugly.

"Is Gaara alright?" Neji asked.

"How should I know? Itachi's real messed up though," Sasuke said, happily. "He's got a busted lip and a blood nose and a black eye. Ha! I can't wait to go home!"

Neji gave him a small smile, then excused himself and left the cafeteria, heading towards the office. He went to the principle's office and knocked. The voices on the inside hushed a moment and he heard Tsunade's voice call for him to come in.

Upon entering, Neji saw three officers and Genma standing in the room and Itachi sitting in a chair in front of Tsunade. Itachi turned and saw him, having the nerve to crack a smirk.

"Well, well, well," he said smugly. "Too bad. You're bitch boy ain't here."

Neji stormed up to him and punched him in the face, knocking him off the chair and onto the floor. Genma groaned andplaced a hand over his eyes while thetwoofficers ran to hold Neji back.

"You fucking bastard!" Neji said angrily. "Keep your goddamn hands off _my_ boyfriend!"

Itachi wisely stayed where he was, as Tsunade stood, trying not to laugh and came around to Neji.

"Can I help you Hyuga Neji?" she asked.

Neji took several quick breathes to calm himself down. "Is Gaara ok?" he asked, unable to look her in the face.

Tsunade smiled. "Yes, he's fine," she assured him. "So is Kankurou, but I believe the two of them skipped school after they left, which is understandable, but they are both fine."

"He didn't hurt Gaara?" Neji asked, glaring at Itachi.

"Not that I could tell," Tsunade said shaking her head. "Go back to lunch please, I still have issues to discuss here."

Neji nodded and bowed slightly, then turned and left, feeling much better then he did a few minutes ago.

* * *

Kankurou winced at the tightness of the twine around his wrists. He hated this. He would have just held still, but his father seemed to enjoy seeing someone completely at his mercy. Sadistic bastard. Kankurou refused to look up as his father came towards him with a cord ready to strike. He was stopped though. 

"No! Please dad! Stop!"

Kankurou's head snapped up in alarm as Gaara came rushing down the stairs and grabbed their shocked father's arm.

"It's not Kankurou's fault! It's my fault! I was bad, but Kankurou got in trouble! Please don't punish him!" Gaara cried tugging on their father's arm, trying to get him away from his older brother.

"No! Gaara, get upstairs!" Kankurou ordered angrily, panic rising quickly. "It's not your fault! Stop lying!"

"I'm not! I'm not lying! Please, daddy, don't hurt Kankurou!"

"Get off, you little shit," his father snapped, shaking Gaara off him. "Now you're both getting punished. You," he pointed at Gaara, "I told you to stay upstairs! You're not allowed to eat unless I decide you can have something. It's not like you need to eat anyway, fatass. You," he turned to Kankurou, "for making me come home from work and causing trouble." A nasty grin spread across his face. "This is your punishment."

In a sudden movement, he grabbed the back of Gaara's neck and shoved him against the wall. He grabbed his good arm and tied it to the high strap there. Gaara looked startled as he turned in confusion, but Kankurou looked horrified.

"What are you doing?" panic was evident in Kankurou's voice now. "You said you were punishing me!"

"I am," he replied, snapping the cord at the air. "Don't you move," he ordered Gaara before snapping the cord down on Gaara's back.

* * *

Haku fell in pace with Neji as they walked to class. Neji looked mildly surprised to see him, but Haku wouldn't look at him. he was content to stare at the floor. 

"You knew about Gaara?" Haku asked quietly.

"Yes..."

"When?"

"Gaara's birthday party...I sorta dragged it out of Kankurou..." Neji said quietly.

"Why haven't you done anything?" Haku cried, angrily.

"Because Gaara askedme not too," Neji said quietly. "I do what I can, but I don't want to betray Gaara's trust...he asked me not to tell anyone," Neji said, still in a quiet voice.

"Gaara never asked me to be quiet!" Haku said, suddenly excited. "I could tell someone! I could get him he--"

"No! Haku you don't get it!" Neji cried stopping. "If you tell some one, yes, they'll stop Gaara's dad...but they like proof!"

"Neji, Gaara looks horrible! They just have to take one look at the poor thing and they'll know!"

"Haku...the thing that Gaara is scared of most is showing anyone those scars...you've never seen them before..." Neji started walking again. "I _love_ Gaara. I can't stand to see him like this, but..." Neji just shook his head and darted into his class room.

Haku sighed and continued walking down the hall. There had to be something!

* * *

Kankurou strained against his bonds; so much so that they were cutting into his wrists, coating his hands in blood. His throat hurt from sobbing and screaming at his father to stop. His breath would catch in his throat and escape in short ragged breaths. 

"Please," he gasped out, exhausted from an emotional pain. "Please dad, stop hurting him…please."

A tiny whimper escaped Gaara's lips as the cord snapped across his back again. He had lost count of the snaps. It hurt horribly, but he refused to let the pained tears in his eyes fall, only letting small cries and whimpers slip through. His knees were starting to give way, but the tight strap around his wrist prevented him from falling. He gave a whimpering 'ow' as the man behind him raked his fingers up into his hair, letting them catch and lift him up a little.

Their father turned back to Kankurou, an evil grin plastured on his face as though he were thoroughly enjoying Kankurou's pain. Kankurou had never hated the man in front of him like he hated him now.

"Yes, I suppose you've learned your lesson, haven't you?" he said, letting go of Gaara's hair.

Gaara lost the dying strength in his legs and slumped down against the wall, held up by the strap. Their father grabbed his suspended arm and lifted him up to better get his hand out of it's bondage.

Kankurou watched in horror as his little brother was tossed on the floor like a child would throw a broken toy. His back was shining with blood from where the cord had cut through his skin. The pained cry from the impact with the floor from his brother caused tears to fall fresh down Kankurou's face. It tore him up inside and left him with thousands of broken pieces that could fit through a needle's eye, and his father knew it too. As he stepped over his trembling son on the floor, Kankurou looked up at him with pleading eyes.

"Don't leave him like that…please," he begged, pride gone, fully expecting to be left there.

His father didn't answer, but he reached out and untied the binds on Kankurou's wrists. As Kankurou slumped forward, the awkward position leaving him sore, the man turned and walked up the stairs, shutting the door as he did.

Kankurou crawled over to Gaara, not having much strength himself and ending up falling down next to him. He called his name in a desperate whispered and reached out to touch his head. Gaara slowly turned his head to him, a small smile on his face. This caused the older boy to burst into tears again and he pulled himself over so that their foreheads were touch, the only means of comfort Kankurou could manage at the moment.

"You…stupid idiot! What the _fuck_ are you smiling about?" he demanded.

"I'm happy," Gaara whispered, closing his eyes. "He didn't hurt you."

"You….stupid, _stupid_ idiotic fool!" Kankurou cried. "Stupid…stupid…oh my god…"

Mustering some of his strength, he reached out and pulled Gaara over to him, rolling himself onto his back so that Gaara could lay on top of him instead of the icy cold cement floor. He hugged him tightly, one hand on Gaara's head, the other on his lower back where there were no cuts or welts. Kankurou felt Gaara relax against him and they laid like that for a very long time in silence.

"Gaara…there are other ways…to hurt someone. You know that," Kankurou said quietly.

"I know…but I didn't want you to get hurt."

"Gaara…I don't understand why you did that…I had just yelled at you…I made you walk home by yourself! You were hurt!" Kankurou waited for an explanation, but Gaara was silent, seeming to be at a loss for what to say. "Gaara…."

"You're my brother…I love you…" Gaara answered quietly. "That's all…"

"I would have preferred getting hit…it hurts more to see you get hurt instead."

Gaara didn't answer. He could feel how hurt Kankurou was to see him take his punishment, but he didn't care. It made him feel good to have done it, proud of himself. He had never felt that before.

They stayed like that for a while longer. Kankurou was beginning to think of ways to get Gaara out of the cold basement with out hurting him more. Gaara just laid there, very still and quiet. The screaming pain in his back refused to die down, but he didn't want Kankurou to know.

"Gaara?"

"Hm?"

"I'm gonna try to move you now, ok? I'll try to be gentle." Gaara winced at his words. He didn't want to move yet, he still hurt.

Kankurou wrapped Gaara's arms around his neck and slowly sat up, placing his hands underneath Gaara's thighs. He stood up slowly and carefully, but still he couldn't avoid everything and more then once Gaara let out an involuntary whimper of pain. Kankurou gently carried him up the stairs, but the motion of his steps soon reduced Gaara into whimpering sobs of pain and he begged him to stop. Kankurou laid him face down on the sofa and carefully pulled away the remains of his brother's shirt. Hurrying upstairs, he got a wet cloth and the hydrogen peroxide from the bathroom along with a large handful of cotton balls.

He cleaned Gaara's back until the whole cloth was bright red, then he dipped a cotton balls in the peroxide. Gaara glanced over at what he was doing.

"No!" he whined. "Not that! Please Kankurou, no! It hurts, it stings!"

"Sh…I know, I'm sorry," Kankurou said softly. "But I need to put it on. You'll get infected if I don't."

There weren't as many cuts as the blood had made it seem. There were mostly just long thin welts while only three or four open cuts were present. Starting with a cut on his shoulder, Kankurou began dabbing the peroxide around. Gaara had used up all his willpower to not cry in the basement, leaving him with none now. He cried and sobbed, begging Kankurou to stop, but he didn't, knowing it was better to just get it over with.

Their father came down a few minutes later and looked into the living room with pure disgust.

"Would you shut UP?" he snapped, causing them both to jump. "My GOD!"

Gaara bit his lip, shaking as Kankurou silently continued his work. Desperately, Gaara tried to keep his voice silent, but it became too much and he burst out in short sobbing cries.

Their father stormed over to the sofa. "I said shut up, you little fuck!" he shouted.

Gaara watched him approach with terrified eyes, but Kankurou quickly stood and blocked his path glaring. His father ordered him to move, but Kankurou refused.

"You'll fucking kill him!" Kankurou said angrily.

"One less mouth to feed," was the reply.

"You barely give him anything to begin with!"

"He doesn't deserve it, the fucking fag!"

Kankurou glared at his father and pointed behind him at his brother. "Gaara does everything you tell him to do," his voice was low and restrained. "_Everything!_ It's never been enough for you! Why can't you just leavehim alone?"

"Who wouldn't want to get rid of a thorn in their side?"

"He's your son! He's MY brother!"

"That doesn't mean I have to look at him like one," his father replied calmly.

Kankurou stared as the man turned and went to the front door, putting his coat on as he did so.

"No one comes into this house while I'm gone," he said before he shut the door. "Especially not that long haired bastard."

Kankurou sighed angrily, then turned to kneel back down next to Gaara and continued working. Gaara had turned his face away from him and he heard small sniffs coming from the small body. Kankurou placed a hand on Gaara's head and rubbed his head.

"I'm sorry Gaara…"

* * *

Dinner that night was completely silent. Temari hadn't been informed of what had happened earlier yet and didn't understand why Gaara wasn't allowed at the table. As they were sitting down, their father ordered Gaara to stand in the living room where he could see him while they ate. Kankurou was glaring the whole time, only picking at his food. When they were finished, their father called Gaara in and told him to do the dishes. 

"You two go upstairs."

"But Dad, I usually do the dishes," Temari said softly.

"Not tonight."

Temari and Kankurou exchanged glances then stood, leaving the dining room to go up the stairs. They stopped on the fourth step though and sat down to listen. Kankurou told her about Gaara's punishment and she hung her head.

"It's the week end too," she said softly. "It'll be harder to get him food."

The listened carefully for any happening in the kitchen that they might want to intervene, but their father seemed to only want to make sure Gaara didn't eat any leftovers. When he was finished, his father shoved him out of the kitchen and told him to go upstairs. Gaara looked mildly surprised to see them on the stairs and gave them a small smile which they found difficult to return.

That night as he laid next to Kankurou on the bed, Gaara couldn't help but smile again. He closed his eyes, wishing for tomorrow to comes sooner.

* * *

H-R feels like a horrible person...her chest hurt so much when she was writing this...and she's so sorry! this chapter was supposed to be a funny one! but it took an nasty turn to depressing...the next will have some funniness in it I promise! 


	22. Grudges Against Itachi

**Vindicated**

Chapter 22: Grudges Against Itachi

**_I am so sorry this took so long I didn't mean it to, it just took me FOREVER the next one should come out sooner I promise! please dont hate Shu! she's sorry_**

* * *

Birds sang joyful notes through the open window as if they knew this day would be good. The sun was shining in the room, lighting gently on Neji's face. He smiled as he jumped out of bed and hurried to get ready. His aunt smiled at him when he came into the kitchen, practically glowing with excitement, and sat down. She gave him his breakfast and he ate quickly, staring intently at the clock. Gaara was coming at eight, one more hour to go.

The two older Hyugas looked at each other with small smiles. Neji wasn't their son, he would never think of himself that way, but he was still like a son to them and they loved seeing him this excited.

The door bell rang, causing them all to jump slightly. Neji and Hiashi both made a dash for the door to see who it was. George however beat them to it, of course.

"May I take you're jacket?" George was saying.

"N—no that's o—ok…"

"Gaara!" Neji cried happily, swooping into the foyer. "You're early!"

Gaara winced slightly. "I'm s—sorry," he said, looking nervous.

"It's ok," Neji said going up to him. "I'm happy to see you!"

He wrapped his arms around Gaara and pulled him into a hug. Gaara involuntarily cried out in pain and Neji pulled away startled.

"What's wrong?" he asked, worried.

"N—nothing, sorry," Gaara stammered out, wrapping his arms around Neji and hugging him.

Neji frowned slightly and didn't hug him back. Something was wrong. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Hiashi and George exchanging glances. He knew his uncle was guessing the truth and who knew what went on in Georges mind.

"Wanna go up to my room for a bit?" Neji asked, looking down at Gaara.

"Yes," Gaara replied, smiling happily, completely oblivious to the two men's suspicions. Neji decided it was best to keep it that way; Gaara would only worry himself sick if he knew.

Neji took his hand and lead him up the stairs to his room. When they were both inside, Neji shut the door. He turned to Gaara, who was still smiling, and gave him an interrogating look.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "And don't you dare say 'nothing'," he added when Gaara opened his mouth to say just that.

Gaara's smile fell instantly and he looked down at the floor. Neji frowned slightly. He had gotten so use to reading the redhead, but this expression was new. He looked nervous, he always did, but there was something else in his face. Neji had never seen it on Gaara before. He went up to him and placed a hand on his cheek, not forcing him to look at him, just to touch him. Gaara smiled slightly and leaned into his touch as Neji rubbed his cheek with his thumb.

"Is it from Monday?" Neji asked quietly.

Gaara shook his head.

"What hurts? Please tell me. Is it from…last night?" Neji asked, hiding the worry in his voice.

Gaara nodded and leaned forward against him. "M—my back…"

At the invitation, Neji reached around him and gently lifted his shirt up and looked. "Oh, my god…" he breathed. He rolled the shirt up more and saw the rest of the marks. "Oh, my god, Gaara…" He hugged Gaara again, this time being careful of where his arms were. "Why did he do this to you?" he asked, his voice shaking. When Gaara was silent, Neji held him tighter. "Please tell me."

"Kankurou…got suspended…I didn't want Kankurou to get hurt…" Gaara said quietly in a slow voice, muffled by Neji's shirt. "Dad punished me instead…but he made Kankurou watch…it was Kankurou's punishment."

"Your dad…hurt you…to punish Kankurou?" Neji asked. He felt his arms shaking and knew Gaara could feel it. He felt Gaara nod against him and suddenly pulled away from Gaara. "Oh, god…I think I'm gonna be sick," he said, his voice breaking, as he placed a hand over his mouth. He felt like he was going to throw up.

Gaara looked horrified and didn't seem to know what to do. "I—I'm sorry Neji!" he cried. "I shouldn't have told you! I'm really sorry! I—I wanted it to happen! I didn't want dad to hurt Kankurou! I—"

"Gaara, shut up…" Neji said, taking deep breaths. He glanced over at Gaara who was standing there, shaking, with his hands covering his mouth. His sleeves were too long for his small arms so all Neji could actually see of his hands were his finger tips. If it had been any other moment or situation, Neji would have wanted to take a picture. He looked so cute like that, but now wasn't the moment or situation for that kind of thought and it was forgotten almost immediately.

"Gaara, go lay down on the bed."

"What?" Gaara asked from behind his sleeves.

"Lay down, okay?" Neji said, voice still quavering and uneven. "I'll put something on it to make it feel better."

"N—no, no, it's okay," Gaara said.

"Just… do it," Neji said forcefully, then turned and walked out of the room.

He stepped into the bathroom and sank to the tiled floor. His mind was reeling, yet floating in an empty space, not knowing where to go or what to think. His stomach was churning unpleasantly. Placing a hand over his mouth, he took deep breaths and swallowed carefully, hoping he didn't throw up. It took a long while for him to calm down.

That bastard.

That evil fucking bastard.

Neji put his face in his hands, but he was so upset that tears couldn't form, no matter how much he wanted to cry. How could he hurt Gaara like that? Was it even possible to be _that_ evil? Hurting someone to teach them a lesson was one thing, but hurting someone's little brother instead? And then making them _watch_? That was beyond…anything Neji's mind could handle.

What had Gaara said?

_I wanted it to happen! I didn't want dad to hurt Kankurou!_

Gaara had interfered. He had stopped his father from physically hurting his brother. That's what was different about his expression before. He was proud of himself. Proud he stood up to his father and protected his favorite person in the entire world. Neji knew Gaara loved him, but he could never live up to Kankurou. Kankurou was the center of Gaara's universe, and he had helped his younger brother in every way he could. To be able to repay that in some way…

Neji sniffed slightly and sat back. He ordered his mind to get a hold of himself. Slowly, he stood and went over to the window. Gaara would be worrying because he was taking so long.

* * *

When Neji came back, Gaara hadn't moved an inch from where he left him. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, as Gaara shifted nervously, knowing Neji had wanted him to lie down and he hadn't listened. He looked down at the potted plant in Neji's hands with a blank look of curiosity. 

"What's that?" he asked.

"It's an aloe plant," Neji told him. "It'll make it feel better; please lay down." He put the plant down on his nightstand, then turned to Gaara and started to carefully pull Gaara's shirt off.

"No, Neji…the—the sc—…they look…I don't want," Gaara whimpered out, keeping his arms down. "The—the …scars…I don't want you to…"

"Sh…it's ok," Neji cooed softly. He leaned down and kissed Gaara, who stopped stammering instantly. With their lips still locked, Neji led him to sit down on the bed, then placed his hands behind his head and brought him closer. He tried to kiss him deeper, but Gaara suddenly pulled away. Neji bit his tongue to keep the sigh of annoyance from coming out. They were never going to get passed this part were they?

"Why are you so nice to me?" Gaara cried, hanging his head and gripping the bed sheets with his good hand. "What did I do? I don't understand! You—you're cool…and you're popular and you're good at everything. I'm just some stupid, ugly, pathetic nobody…I don't understand…"

Neji sighed and pulled Gaara's shirt off and pushed him gently down to lie on his stomach. He carefully pulled off one of the many stems from the prickly plant and peeled the skin away. Even more gently, he smoothed the oozing juice on the red welts, carefully avoiding the few areas where the skin was broken. He smiled when Gaara sighed slightly in comfort. The aloe felt cool and soothed the burning on his back. Neji blinked when he realized Gaara was still looking up at him in question, wanting an answer. To his disappointment, none was given.

"Neji…?"

Neji sat down, parallel to the bed and leaned his chin on his hand, his elbow on the bed next to Gaara. "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"…No…I can't think of what to say to you…I like you when you're happy and when you're sad or hurt I want to comfort you. I want you to smile for real. The smile you always give is always so sad and nervous. But I love you and I honestly have no idea why. Do you love me?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

"You're really nice to me no matter what and you're really patient even though I annoy you so much," Gaara said instantly.

Neji winced slightly. "You noticed?" he asked sheepishly.

Gaara nodded looking down at the sheets. "And…you don't make fun of my stutter and always want to help me. No one but Kankurou's ever done that for me." Gaara hid his face in Neji's sheets. "I—I'm sorry…those are stupid reasons…b—but I've never liked someone like this before…"

Neji smiled and finished putting the aloe on. He wiped his hands on his carpet and reached out to run his fingers through Gaara's hair. Gaara peeked up at him in question.

"You excited about going?"

"Mmhm!" Gaara said, getting up slowly. "Where are we—" he quickly covered his mouth with his hands, "sorry!"

"It's a surprise, silly!" Neji said with a smiled as he stood.

"I know I'm sorry!" Gaara cried.

"But…we're taking a bus for a bit," Neji told him, picking up Gaara's shirt from where he had dropped it.

"Really? I've never been on a bus before!" Gaara said, in an excited voice.

Neji laughed a little and helped him put his shirt back on. He wrapped his arms around the smaller boy and pulled him closer. They had twenty minutes until they had to leave. Neji didn't want to waste it.

He was shocked when Gaara stood on his toes to kiss him first. Did he say earlier that they were never going to get passed light kissing? Holy shit.

When Gaara finally paused for breath, Neji stared down at him in total shock. His expression must have been an odd one, because Gaara shrank back looking nervous.

"I'm sorry! Did I do something wrong?"

"I…didn't know you could kiss like that," Neji said shaking himself slightly.

"…I'm—I'm sorry?" Gaara looked confused.

"No, no, no! It's ok!" Neji said laughing, pulling him back as Gaara took a step back in an unsure behavior. He rubbed their cheeks together and lightly kissed him. "I'm totally cool with this…I thought you weren't. But you're a really good kisser!" he added, still slightly shocked. "What other hidden talents you got and ain't sharing?"

Gaara stammered in embarrassment, then blushed darkly at his compliment. Neji laughed again and kissed his nose then moved down to kiss him on the mouth again. Gaara complied and it soon became a light dance of their tongues in each other's mouths.

"Oh, puh-LEASE! Get a room already!"

Neji twitched and whirled around angrily. "We _are_ in a room, Hanabi! My room! And the door was _closed_! Go away!" he shouted pointing away from his room.

Hanabi scowled and crossed her arms. "Daddy! Neji's kicking me out of his room so he and Gaara can have sex!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Neji ran to the door and Hanabi wisely bolted down the hall. "We are NOT having sex! And who cares if we ARE! Grow. Up. Hanabi!" he shouted after her.

He slammed the door shut, huffing angrily. When he turned Gaara was peeking out from behind his sleeve covered hands, his face nearly the same color of his hair. He gave him a crooked smile and laughed slightly. Going up to him, he took Gaara's hands in his.

"I'm so glad you're dad let you come!" Neji told him.

"Huh?"

"You're dad let you come, I'm glad," Neji repeated.

Gaara's eyes suddenly widened slightly and darted around the room nervously, then he stared at the floor.

"….Gaara…?"

"Uh…well…"

* * *

"Where the fuck is he?" 

"I don't know dad!" Temari cried, near tears from worrying. "Kankurou already left to go looking for him. He wasn't here when we woke up!"

She wasn't sure how many times she had answered that question that morning, but it was starting to get on her nerves. She had been rudely woken up when Kankurou had burst in her room saying he couldn't find Gaara. He had searched the whole house, but he couldn't find him. The only place he hadn't searched was their father's room and he was worried that's exactly where he was. Several minutes later their father had come out of his room and Kankurou had angrily confronted with about Gaara's whereabouts and learned Gaara wasn't actually in the room and got him in more trouble then if he had just kept his mouth shut.

Kankurou had gone and searched the whole house and the outside again, cursing the whole time, muttering what he was going to do to Gaara when he found him. He didn't mean the things he said, Temari knew that, but she wisely stayed out of his way the whole time he searched.

Her father scoffed angrily and stormed up the stairs. "I want to know the minute he gets back."

Temari nodded, though he was already gone. She went to the window and stared out as grey clouds slowly made their way across the sky.

'_Gaara…what are you doing? You're not stupid…'_

* * *

"Kankurou!" 

Kankurou stopped and turned and the cheerful cry of his name. Kyu pulled up in his blue car, the top down, and smiled at him. Next to her in the passengers side was Ukon, grinning good naturedly, but not high. _'For once,'_ Kankurou thought to himself.

"Hiya!" she said.

"Oh, God, thank you!" Kankurou cried rushing over to her car. "Kyu, have you seen Gaara? He's missing!"

"Gaara? Yeah, I saw him. I gave him a ride this morning," Kyu said, looking surprised. She thwacked Ukon's arm and told him to get in the backseat. When he had clambered over the seats, she patted his previous seat. "Hop in!"

Kankurou put his hands on the car and literally did just that. As Kyu pulled away from the curb, he looked at her in worry. "When did you see him?" he asked.

"Real early this morning," she said. "Ukon and I went to watch the football game at the school and slept over a friend of mine's. We were coming home and I saw Gaara walking on the side walk and told him to get in."

"Where was he going?" Kankurou asked.

"Neji's," she said shortly.

"Neji's?" he cried. "What the fuck? What the hell was he—"

"Kankurou, honey, calm down," she said kindly. After Kankurou took a few deep breaths and slumped back in his seat she smiled. "I'll take you to Neji's house ok?"

"You know the way?" Kankurou asked in surprise.

"Kankurou, I am a girl. I am all knowing and all seeing."

"Kyu-chan, didn't you have to asked birthday boy how to get to Hyuga's—"

"Shut up, Ukon."

Kankurou snickered quietly and stared out at the houses and yards that weren't there anymore. He didn't understand why Gaara had left. He knew he would get in trouble for leaving with out telling anyone, but still he had left. He had gone to Neji's once before, but he had been really upset then. Was he upset? Kankurou was at a loss last night. Gaara didn't seem upset at all, if anything he was practically floating around all night. The only option Kankurou could think of was that Neji invited him over to do something at school that day and Gaara had forgotten to mention it. That didn't make sense, because Gaara would have just not gone if he had forgotten.

When they pulled up into the Hyuga's enormous driveway, Kankurou got out and went up to the door. As expected, George answered the door and inquired his business as if he had never seen Kankurou before in his life.

"Is Gaara here?" Kankurou asked, peeking in the house as if Gaara would be standing right there in the foyer.

"No, I'm sorry to say he isn't," George replied. "Neither is Neji-san. They left some time ago together."

Kankurou's eye twitch. Neji _had_ invited Gaara over. Mentally cursing, he shoved his hands in his pockets and started thinking. "Do you know where they went?" he asked finally.

"The bus stop is all I know," George said.

"Who is it George—oh, Kankurou," Hiashi greeted as he walked up to the door.

"Hi, do you know where Gaara and Neji went?" Kankurou asked, aware that Kyu and Ukon were standing behind him.

Hiashi shook his head slightly. "The bus stop is all I know," he told him. "Neji told me that he would be gone all day though."

Kankurou's eyebrow raised slowly in surprise. He glanced back at Kyu and Ukon at a loss of what to do now.

"At least we know he's safe," Kyu suggested quietly.

Kankurou gave a half hearted grin and turned away from her. Safe? Yeah he was safe for the moment, but he wouldn't be when he got home. Their father had been livid when he learned the Gaara was gone. Kankurou still couldn't believe Gaara had left. With Monday, last night and now the foresight of another punishment Kankurou was scared their father would kill Gaara this time, or that he wouldn't be able to cover it anymore. Would he even be able to recover completely? If his father was really mad, it would be worse then Monday had been. Gaara would need to go to a hospital and there father would refuse to take him.

Kyu took Kankurou's hand and gave him a little tug. "Kankurou, it's ok, he'll be back later ok?" she said quietly.

Kankurou nodded and then nodded his thanks to the two Hyugas in the door. The three turned and walked back to Kyu's car, then Kankurou thought of something and turned back to them.

"Does Neji have his cell with him?"

"He never goes anywhere without it," Hiashi said, smiling slightly.

"'kay. Thanks."

* * *

"Ukon, out," Kyu ordered. 

"What?" Ukon cried.

"This is you're stop," she said, pointing at his house.

"But I wanna stay with you guys!" he whined.

Kyu and Kankurou both turned and gave him a look. He threw his hands up in the air, then climbed out of the car and strode up to his front door. Just before they started down the road, he turned and shouted back at them.

"Use condoms!"

Kyu accidentally slammed on the brakes making them both jerk forward. Kankurou coughed in embarrassment and they drove in silence for a long time.

"Um…you wanna go get something to eat?" Kyu asked quietly, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Sure," Kankurou said, smiling stupidly. They were seniors for crying out loud! They could handle this like adults!

Apparently not. They continued to drive in silence, unable to think of something intelligent to say now that their minds. They pulled up into a Friendly's and trudged into the building. Standing right inside the door was Ukon, smiling broadly at them.

"Hi!" he said cheerfully.

"How'd you do that?" Kankurou demanded.

"Cut through the woods," Ukon said cheerfully.

Kankurou glared at him then turned to Kyu. "Hey, can I borrow your cell phone?" he asked. "I just wanna know if he's ok."

"Sure, here you go," she said handing him her cell phone.

* * *

The bus' low rumbling and soft rocking acted as a lullaby to Gaara as he sighed in contentment. The gentle arms wrapped around him only added to the immense comfort and peace he was in. Earlier, Neji had asked the attendant if, instead of sitting in the seats he had bought for them, they could have the extended three seats in the back. No one had purchased them so she told them it was okay. Neji had been afraid Gaara would accidentally rub his back against the seat and wanted him to be as comfortable as he could for the long ride they had. Neji had laid down across the three seats then made Gaara lay on top of him as though he were a giant pillow. Gaara had protested of course, but complied and was glad he did. 

As Neji shifted underneath him, Gaara looked up in concern. "Are you okay? I—I can move if you're uncomfortable," he said quietly.

"No, of course not," Neji said smiling down at him. He put his hands under Gaara's arms and pulled him higher so that Gaara could snuggle into the curve of Neji's neck. "You're so light, you feel like a comfy blanket." He nuzzled against Gaara's forehead. "I could stay like this for hours."

Gaara smiled happily at his words. He could live with that. Lifting his head up, he met Neji in another kiss. He wouldn't mind if this never ended.

A few small giggles drifted to their ears and they broke away. Gaara hid his face, wincing at the laughter as Neji looked up to see who had laughed. A few little old ladies smiled kindly at him and went back to their quiet chatter and knitting. Neji caught such phrases from them as "They're so cute", "Young dears", and "Adorable boys". It made him laugh a little himself.

Looking down at Gaara, he never would have thought they would have gotten this far. He wanted to, of course, but Gaara was so shy he had had his doubts. Everything about Gaara shone with innocence. When they had first started going out, Neji fully expected that he would have to teach Gaara everything about relationships and what that involved. Nervous and shy as Gaara was, Neji was beginning to realize that the redhead in his arms knew much more then he let on. It made Neji wonder what else he knew, and also where he had learned it from. Hadn't he said he'd never gone out with someone before? No, he hadn't. He had said that no one had ever treated him so nice before.

Neji watched as Gaara rested his head on his shoulder and closed his eyes. Had Gaara gone out with someone before him? If so who? And what had happened? Something bad? He couldn't have learned from Itachi. So many questions he wanted to ask. Would Gaara answer them? He didn't want to force him into answering, but he was so curious.

Startled, he blinked as he felt a low rumbling against his stomach. Neji bit back a laugh as Gaara blushed darkly and tried to ignore his complaining stomach. Neji had never felt someone's stomach rumbling against his. It felt kind of funny. "Hungry?" he inquired.

"No!" Gaara said quickly.

"Sure," he said sarcastically. "When's the last time you ate?"

His playful smile dropped when Gaara dodged his question. "I—I'm not hungry, really!" he said, only to be proven wrong by his stomach again.

"I brought food, you know. My aunt packed us a feast or something," Neji said, leaning down to slide his duffle bag out and pull out one of the several brown paper bags in there. "Here, eat," he said, offering it to him.

"N—no! I'm not hungry, Neji, really! Thanks for—for offering, but I'm not allowed—" Gaara clamped a hand over his mouth and turned his face away from Neji as the older boy sat up a little.

"Not allowed?" Neji asked, frowning. "What do you mean?"

"I—I was bad…I didn't listen to dad yesterday and he says I eat too much anyway and—and not eating for a while is good…cause I'm—I'm f—…I eat too much…"

Neji sighed, visibly pained by Gaara words. He placed his hands on either side of Gaara then let them fall on to his own stomach, measuring the distance. He cringed and bit his lip. He was too skinny. Way to skinny. He could feel every bone on Gaara's back. If someone didn't know him, or if he didn't wear such baggy clothes, people would think he was anorexic. Neji remembered the first time he saw Gaara with out his shirt on and how unhealthily skinny he was. It wasn't good, and now he wasn't 'allowed' to eat? He couldn't believe anyone calling Gaara fat, but Gaara still believed everything his father told him, a trait Neji hoped to rid eventually.

"Gaara, you're not fat. Look how much thinner you are then me; that's not healthy! You can get really sick!" Neji said, looking at the back of Gaara's turned head. "You don't think _I'm_ fat, do you?"

"No!" Gaara cried. "You're not fat, you're…you're…you look…" Neji raised an eyebrow in question as Gaara's face turned the same color as his hair, to embarrassed to say what he thought Neji looked. "I am fat…I eat too much."

"I've seen you eat, Gaara, and a bird picks at food more then you do," Neji told him. "You're too thin." He took Gaara's hand, noting the difference between his own and then thin one he was holding. He gently rubbed it, almost afraid he'd break it. "Please? Just one sandwich? It's not like anyone's gonna see…"

Gaara finally turned his head back towards Neji and reached for the bag. He pulled out a lunch meat sandwich, cut in triangles, and started nibbling at one. As he did, Neji's cell phone vibrated in his pocket, causing Gaara to jump. Neji apologized and pulled it out, reaching to him to let him rest back down in his previous position.

"Hello?" Neji said, into the phone as Gaara looked up at him, chewing on the sandwich. "No…no…yeah, he's right here…sure hold on. It's Kankurou," he told Gaara.

Gaara swallowed what was in his mouth and nervously took the phone from Neji with a shaking hand. "Hi," he said quietly.

"What the hell, Gaara! What do you think you're doing?" Kankurou's voice sounded very angry and it made Gaara cringe and bite his lip.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"You damn well should be!" he snapped. "Where the fuck are you?"

"O—o—on—on a b—bus," Gaara said, clearly upset by Kankurou's yelling. "I—I—I'm s—sorry! I—I just…I m—mean...I d—don't, I—"

Neji took the phone away from Gaara, frowning. Gaara hung his head and buried it into Neji's soccer hoodie sniffing slightly. "My god, Kankurou! Chill out!"

"Chill out? Neji you don't fucking understand how bad this is! Dad doesn't know where he is, _I_ don't know where he is! My god, Neji! Don't you get it? He'll fucking kill him!"

"Don't talk to me like that!" Neji said angrily. "I didn't know until he got here that you didn't know. Besides, he can have fun sometimes too! I know you're worried, but you can _try_ to do it a little nicer?" Neji took the receiver away from his mouth for a moment and glanced down at Gaara. "Gaara, breath," he ordered.

Gaara took a shuddering breath, but held it again like he had been, trying not to cry.

"Is he crying?" Kankurou said suddenly. His voice had changed. He now sounded very concerned.

"Yes," Neji said shortly, as Gaara sniffed again and silently hiccupped. Neji hugged him tighter, running his fingers through his red locks.

"….lemme talk to him."

"No!" Neji cried, nearly appalled that Kankurou would even suggest it now.

"What?"

"It's your fault he's upset! Don't worry, he's fine, he's with me. We'll be back later. _Don't bother us!_" Neji hung up, turned his ringer off and dropped his phone in the open duffle bag. He wrapped both arms around Gaara and nuzzled against him. "Shh….it's ok…take deep breaths. It's ok…"

"No, it not!" Gaara cried, his voice muffled by Neji's hoodie. "K—Kankurou's m—mad at m—me! I—I was b—bad and—and now K—Kankurou hates me!"

Neji sat up in his seat, causing Gaara to slide back to sit on his knees. He stopped Gaara from covering his face in his hands to hide his tears. Gaara stared at the area between them, lower lip trembling until Neji cupped Gaara's face and made him look him in the eye.

"Don't say that. Kankurou does. not. hate. you," Neji said sternly. "Just because people yell doesn't mean they hate you. Kankurou was just worried ok?"

Gaara nodded and hung his head, but Neji didn't think he believed him. They sat in silence for a while as the bus continued down the smooth road. Gaara quietly finished the first triangle of the sandwich, but looked like he was subtly trying to hide the rest. Neji gave him a look and he pulled out another triangle with a sigh. He watched Neji leaned down and pull out his cell phone as it beeped, signaling he had a message. He listened to the message then pressed a button and held it out for Gaara.

"_Hey. Gaara, I'm really sorry I yelled at you. And I shouldn't have talked to you like that. Don't be upset, I was just really scared when I woke up and you were here this morning. I want you to have a good time with Neji, ok? You can yell at me later if you want, Kyu already did…what?...oh, Kyu says hi and—hey! Ukon—"_

"_Hey Birthday boy! Have fun with Neji and don't for get to use—"_

There was the sound of someone getting hit and then fighting in the background.

"_Hi, Puppy, it's Kyu. Hope you have a good time and—"_

"_Kyu, gimme the phone."_

"_I'm talking to Gaara!"_

"_You're talking to a machine."_

"_Are you calling me stupid?"_

"_No! I—uh…um…"_

"_Kankurou says bye, ok Puppy? He may not have a _girlfriend_ when I get through with him, but he says bye. Bye-bye Puppy! We love you!"_

Kyu turned around and gave Kankurou the look of death. He still had Ukon in an upside down head lock and they were both looking at her like frightened little animals. Kankurou dropped Ukon and smiled at her.

"I love you, Kyu," he said.

"Suck up," Ukon muttered from the floor before Kankurou stepped on him.

Kyu turned huffily and went to sit down at a booth. The two boys couldn't see it, but she was silently giggling the whole time. They sat down across from her and Ukon began looking around for some means to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Holy shit!" he cried suddenly in a loud whisper. "Look!"

Kankurou and Kyu turned and saw Itachi walk into the restaurant and sit down at one of the smaller tables. He was still sporting the black eye and busted lip Kankurou had given him. Kankurou and Ukon exchanged glanced then shared an evil grin.

"What happened to Itachi's face?" Kyu asked. "Wait…didn't he get expelled?"

"Yeah," Kankurou said, nodding. "For fighting and carrying drugs."

"Yeah, and get this!" Ukon said leaning forward. "Itachi had bought those drugs from Kankurou that morning."

"You still sell that horrible stuff?" she said, frowning slightly.

"I have to," Kankurou muttered quietly.

Kyu gave Kankurou a small look, then sat back. "Who was Itachi fighting?"

"Kankurou!" Ukon told her.

"Why were you fighting?" Kyu asked.

"Because that bastard was trying to rape Gaara in the middle of school!" Kankurou said angrily, feeling fully justified.

"Gaara?...Your brother?...cute little Gaara—he was trying to do _what_?" she cried in disbelief.

"This was the second time too," Ukon added. Kankurou gave him a look, but Ukon twitched his eye, letting Kankurou know he knew what he was doing.

Kyu gapped in shock then fixed her fiery glare on Itachi. "That fucking asshole!"

Kankurou and Ukon both exchanged looks of shock. Kankurou had never heard Kyu curse like that, and Ukon knew it was only when she was extremely mad.

"You know what you should do Kyu-chan?" Ukon said suddenly. "You should go up to him and make him nuts."

"I donno…"

"Kyu-chan, you hate Itachi!" Ukon said.

"What?" Kyu said in confusion.

"Exhibit A," Ukon said, holding up a large zip lock bag with a bright pink object inside.

The instant Kyu looked at it, realization dawned on her face and her eyes flared up and she stood angrily, then stormed away. Ukon snickered and put the bag down.

"Uh, Ukon? What's with the shovel?"

"Let's watch come on."

* * *

"Where are we?" Gaara asked as they walked. Neji had told him to cover his eyes and not to peek. Guiding him with a hand on each arm was Neji grinning slightly. 

"You'll see," Neji assured him. "Big step up."

He helped Gaara up onto something solid. When he was steady, Gaara felt Neji jump up next to him. Whatever they were standing on was uneven and Neji had to catch him a few times because he lost his footing and slipped as they continued to walk.

"I hear water," Gaara said, making sure to keep his eyes covered. "Are we there yet? Can I open my eyes?"

"Soon. We're almost there I promise," Neji said, smiling at Gaara's uncontrollable excitement. He moved Gaara so that he was standing in the exact place he wanted him. "My mom and dad use to bring me where when I was little," Neji told him. He hugged Gaara from behind and rested his chin on the smaller boy's shoulder. "Open your eyes."

* * *

"Oh, my GOD! Uchiha Itachi! Holy crap, it's been so long! What happened to your face?" 

Itachi looked up when he heard his name and watched as a pretty girl clad completely in different shades of violet walked over to him and sat down. She looked vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't place her name. At the mention of the appearance of his face, he frowned darkly.

"Got in a fight," he muttered. "Who are you?"

"Oh, Itachi! That hurts!" she cried feigning the hurt of his not remembering her. "I know we haven't seen each other in a long time, but my god! I'm Kyu!"

Itachi's mouth dropped open and the fry he had been holding fell back onto his plate. Kyu? This was Kyu? He hadn't seen her since middle school, and hadn't talked to her since elementary school. She'd changed since then…in more places then one.

"Hey," he said, shaking his head slightly.

Kyu giggled. She paused then stood up. "Can you order me something? I need to use the rest room," she said.

Itachi shrugged nonchalantly in his smooth kind of way.

* * *

Kankurou glanced over at Ukon as they peered at the table Kyu had just left. "What's going on?" he asked quietly, both oblivious to the waitress standing behind them trying to get their order. 

"You're about to see Kyu-chan at her best," Ukon said, an insane grin plastered on his face as he watched Itachi talking to a different waitress.

"What's she gonna do?" Kankurou asked as Itachi's waiter left to place Kyu's order.

"You'll see," Ukon said in a sing song voice as Kyu came back.

* * *

The two at the table were laughing at something or other as the waitress brought Kyu's food to the table. She looked down at it, seeming to think hard and then looked up at Itachi with an apologetic smile. 

"I'm sorry, Itachi, I can't eat this," she said, looking down at her plate which sported a hamburger and fries.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Why?" he asked.

"I have to be a vegetarian," she said, looking away as though she were ashamed.

"Why?"

Kyu bit her lip, looking like she was going to cry and placed the back of her hand over her mouth. "My boyfriend thinks I'm fat!" she cried loudly.

Itachi glanced around the restaurant as its occupants all turned to see who had just cried out in hiccupping tears. "You're not fat!" Itachi told her. "You're like this skinny!" he added, holding his hands about eight inches away from each other.

"And you think I'm anorexic!" she screeched.

"What? No I don't!" Itachi cried, as more and more people turned and stared at them.

"Oh, my god! You just said I was this skinny!" Kyu cried, holding her hands out.

"I was complimenting you!"

"Oh, that's a hell of a way to compliment someone! I get enough grief from my boyfriend, you know! You could be a _little_ more supportive instead of an insensitive jerk!"

"I am not an insensitive jerk—"

"Yes you are!"

"Look, if this is about that damn shovel—"

"OH! Oh! You _had_ to bring up the _shovel_!" she screeched angrily. "I was forgetting about that! I was starting to forgive you! But NO! You had to bring it up! You bastard!"

Getting up, she stormed away, then came back and smacked Itachi with her purse. Itachi got up and stormed after her as she headed towards the bathrooms.

"What the hell Kyu?" he cried. "It was just a shovel! And we were five! God!"

"Don't, 'god' me!" she snapped. "You scarred me for LIFE, Itachi! I can't believe you!"

Reaching out, she smacked him across the face then grabbed his shirt and shoved him into the girl's bathroom and locked the door from the outside. Ignoring the feminine screams from the inside of the bathroom and Itachi's pleads to be let out, Kyu turned and stalked back to the two waiting boys.

"Dude, Kyu! You just bitch-slapped Itachi!" Kankurou said, holding his sides.

"Bastard had it coming," she snapped, with a pouting glare.

"Kyu-chan I'm so glad you're on our side," Ukon said, banging his fist on the table.

The three of them stood and walked out, telling the people to leave their check with Itachi. Rain clouds were rolling across the sky so they helped Kyu put up her roof, then drove to Ukon's house and watched movies the rest of the afternoon, thoroughly enjoying themselves as the rain poured outside.

* * *


	23. And We All Fall Down

**Vindicated**

Chapter 23: And We All Fall Down

**!AUTHORESS' NOTE: READ!**

_**Meh…Shu didn't want to update so early, but Junsui Kegasu's going on vaca (again) and I'm leaving on Friday, so I'm posting early. Be grateful! Mwahaha! Jk review please! Reviews make Shu very happy**_

_**Also…theres a lot of stuff in this chapter…it really could be two…but one would have been really short. So…try reviewing as you read cause I really like hearing your opinions and such…(thanks for the critique and such Ebony!)**_

**!END OF AUTHORESS' NOTE!**

* * *

Rain continued to beat down on the houses and streets for the rest of the evening. Despite it though, Neji got out of the car to walk Gaara up to his house. He shivered slightly when they reached the door, but tried not to show it. Gaara was wearing his hoodie and didn't want the red head to feel bad. He smiled at him as he paused, staring at the door handle.

"Gaara?"

Gaara sniffed and turned to look at him. "I—I'm scared…" he said quietly.

"It's ok," Neji whispered, pulling him inside of the door post and someone what out of the rain. "You can spend the night if you want, come home tomorrow…"

A frantic shaking of 'no' flung droplets of water off Gaara's hair. He couldn't speak anymore; Neji could see him shaking horribly underneath the too big hoodie. He waited for Gaara to do something, but he seemed too unsure to do anything, so he turned the handle for him and opened the door, leading him inside.

The family at the table looked up as they walked in. they had been just finishing a very silent, uncomfortable dinner. Temari looked thoroughly relieved to see him and Kankurou gave him a small grin, but as their father turned and fixed an icy glare on him, Gaara looked like he wanted nothing more then to turn and run back to the car.

"Go up to your room."

"W—what?" Gaara asked, blinking in surprise.

"Go upstairs to _your_ room," his father repeated as if Gaara were stupid. "Now." Gulping, Gaara turned and ran up the stairs, leaving Neji alone, watching him leaving. "You. Leave."

Neji turned back to Gaara's father, trying not to hide any anger that was boiling inside him. "May I go tell him good bye?" he asked trying to sound pleasant.

The man glowered at him, then returned to finish the rest of his dinner. Neji took that as a 'yes' and hurried up after Gaara before he changed his mind. He found Gaara standing in front of the doorway directly across from Kankurou's room. He was looking into the room in fear and didn't move until Neji touched his shoulder.

"It's so dark in there," he whispered.

Neji took his hand and led him to stand in the middle of the room. He pulled something out of his pocket and pressed it into his hand. Gaara only had time to register that it was a small flashlight before Neji leaned down and kissed him, holding him in his arms and rocking him slightly.

"I love you," he whispered. "Don't you dare forget that, ok? And don't be afraid to come over if something bad happens or whatever."

"Okay," Gaara whispered back, clutching the flashlight tighter.

Neji kissed his cheek lightly and whispered a soft, "bye," then turned and went back down stairs where the rest of the family was getting up from the table. "I have a game tomorrow," he said watching Gaara's father pause and look at him evenly. "Coach asked me to ask you if Gaara could come to help him."

"Fine," the man said, after a very long pause.

Neji smiled his thanks and waved to Kankurou and Temari. After he left, closing the door behind him, Temari and Kankurou watched their father walk into the kitchen, scrape his plate and set it in the sink, then he calmly went up stairs, said something to Gaara in the door way and went into his own room. They blinked in shock and ran upstairs to Gaara's room.

"Leave him!" came the commanding shout from behind the door at the top of the stairs.

Kankurou paused with his hand on the doorknob and looked at his sister. She sighed, slumping her shoulders, and trudged in a defeated manner back down the stairs. Kankurou thought for a minute then went into his room.

Gaara watched his sister and brother's shadows move away from his door. He was scared and had wanted to see them. The daring and boldness he had that morning was gone, left in the beautiful place in his dreams Neji had brought to life. He almost felt as though it really were a dream. It couldn't have been a dream! It couldn't! It felt like a dream, but a dream does leave you soaking wet, nor the smell of firewood smoke on your clothes. A dream doesn't love you. It doesn't hold you and tell you that you're special and that it cares the world for you. Dreams don't smile at you in a way that steals all your troubles away.

Neji wasn't a dream, nor was the time they spent together, or the place Neji took him, no matter how surreal it seemed now. Gaara held the flashlight up and turned it on, pointing the light at his hand wanting to hold the brightness and make it his. Something he could carry with him forever like he wanted to with Neji.

Something quietly tapped on his door and a piece of paper, folded like the one Tsunade had shown him was slid underneath his door.

Gaara swallowed and stared at it.

"_Stand there and don't move."_

The command echoed through his mind and the nearly empty room. He must obey it, but his father wasn't there to see him if he moved a little was he? Just like he hadn't been able to see him eat more then his share of the food Neji brought when they were hiding under a blanket of rocks, laughing at the rain.

Gaara scurried over to pick up the note and rushed back to the spot in the middle of the floor and opened it.

_I'm sorry I yelled at you this morning are you ok?_

Gaara looked around for something to write with, but his room was barely used and all he found was an eraser. He stared at the note in distress, wondering what he should do then took the eraser and smudged out the majority of Kankurou's message.

_y e s_

He refolded the paper and slid it back out. He waited until it came back again, this time with a pen.

_Haha clever. But seriously are you ok?_

_Dad's mad at me_

_I know it's ok but dad told Neji you could go to his soccer game tomorrow_

_really? he said yes?_

_Yeah. Damn this is annoying._

Gaara was about to write back, when he head a door open and Kankurou curse. He hurriedly blackened Neji's flashlight and shoved it in his pant's pocket as the door was flung open. He froze where he was standing as his father stormed into the room and snatched the paper from Gaara's hands. He read it quickly then tore it to pieces and flung them at Gaara, who flinched, then grabbed him.

"You stupid little shit!" he yelled, bringing his hand across Gaara's face, "What the fuck were you thinking? You think you're better then everyone so you can just do whatever you damn well please?"

"N—n—no! I—I just…I—I w—w—wanted—"

His father grabbed a fist full of his hair and yanked him up. "'I—I just…I—I w—w—wanted'," he said in a mocking voice. "You sound like a retard! If you can't talk, don't even try!"

Gaara whimpered in pain, seeing stars as he tried to stand on his toes to relieve some of the pressure pulling at his head.

"What the fuck are you wearing?" his father snapped tugging at the dark grey-near black hoodie. "You stole it didn't you, you little thief!"

"N—no! It's N—Neji's! My shirt was w—wet so he let me wear it," Gaara insisted. "It's his s—soccer h—hoodie…it's got his n—name on it!"

His father scowled and let go of his hair. He yanked at the sweatshirt, tugging it off Gaara's small frame and tossing it in the corner. "Remind me to burn it later," his father snapped.

"No! D—don't burn it! It's Neji's, he—" Gaara was cut off as his head was suddenly yanked to the side.

"What is that?"

Gaara blinked in confused. On his neck? What was on his neck? His eyes suddenly widened in fear. That had been where Neji—

"You fucking kissed him, you whore!

Gaara blushed but didn't know what to say. His father grabbed the back of his neck as Gaara hadn't been wearing anything under the hoodie and yanked him around and dragged him out of the room to the bathroom. Alarmed, Kankurou hurried after them.

"Dad! Stop! You'll—"

His father turned and shoved him away. Kankurou frantically grabbed the railing as he nearly fell down the stairs. The bathroom door snapped shut and locked and all Kankurou could do was stand in front of it, praying he didn't kill his younger brother. He could hear his father yelling at him, calling him horrible names and accusing him of things Kankurou seriously doubted were true. He heard his father give Gaara orders to do something, but he was talking too quietly to hear.

A few minutes later, the door opened and their father calmly stepped out, pushing passed Kankurou and went into his room. Slowly, Kankurou went into the bathroom, hoping Gaara was ok.

His brother was sitting on the floor by the toilet, recovering from gagging and throwing up. A toothbrush and container of hand soap lay on the floor next to him. Kankurou remembered what had happened last time their father had thought Gaara and Neji had kissed. Glancing down at Gaara, he watched him hold his neck like it hurt him, but in a place he couldn't reach with his hand. Their father hadn't hit him, he wasn't stupid, but he had resorted to a different way of making Gaara throw up.

Kankurou shuddered and picked up a cup from the stack in the bathroom cabinet and filled it with cold water and handed it to him. Gaara drank it silently as Kankurou flushed the toilet.

"Why'd he make you throw up?" he asked quietly.

"I ate with Neji," Gaara replied, very quietly. It sounded like it hurt him to talk; he kept swallowing as if trying to sooth the pain in the back of his throat.

"Mmm," Kankurou muttered. He gently reached out and tilted Gaara's head to see the mark and grinned. "Does Neji have one?"

Gaara blushed and nodded slightly.

Kankurou laughed and messed his hair a little. "I'd be disappointed if he didn't. Where'd you guys so? A hotel?"

Gaara blushed darker and shook his head. "N—Neji took m—me to this p—place his parents use to t—take him when h—he was little. He wasn't me to—to see it."

"Aw, that's cute," Kankurou said. "What was it like?"

"It was like…a p—park…all woods and there was a w—water fall. Neji took me down a path too get to the waterfall. H—he went swimming, b—but I just watched. Everything w—was starting to bloom and stuff so it was really pretty," Gaara replied, smiling as he pictured the place in his head. "His f—family owns the l—land…so no one goes there."

"What'd you guys do?"

"Walked around…and talked. Neji told me about what he use to do with his parents."

"That's all?"

"W—well, Neji went swimming. And then it started to rain so we went in this cave thing and there was a place to make a fire—Neji's dad had made a safe place for it—and Neji made one and we ate…and talked some more…"

Kankurou grinned slyly. "I'm sure you got that from talking, yes?"

Gaara blushed darkly and covered the mark. "We just k—kissed…that's all…you think it sounds boring…I had fun," he said slightly defensively.

"I know you did, and I'm not saying that it wasn't," Kankurou said grinning. "I'm glad you had fun. You ate too, didn't you? That's good," he added, but Gaara shook his head. "No? Why not?"

Gaara glanced down at the toothbrush and then at the toilet. "I—I threw up…"

"Dad made you throw up," Kankurou corrected quietly, knocking the toothbrush away. He helped Gaara up and they went into Kankurou's room. "But you still get to go Neji play right? That'll be fun."

"Kankurou?...I—I gotta ask you something," Gaara said in a quiet voice.

"'Sup?" Kankurou asked, sitting down at his desk.

"P—Principle Ts—Tsunade showed m—me the…the thing that Itachi had in his pocket. The one w—with the drug in it…"

"Mhmm?" Kankurou asked, not sure where he was going with this.

"D—d…do y—you do d—drugs too?" he asked in a tiny little voice that reminded Kankurou of a mouse.

Kankurou's eyes widened immensely. "No!" he cried, slightly startled. "I…I did…once…a long time ago in middle school, but I haven't since. What makes you think I do?"

Gaara stared at his feet, unsure of how to put into words what he wanted to say. He seemed unwilling to confront Kankurou about it, but Kankurou was patient. "N—nothing. Never mind, it was stupid t—to ask," Gaara said quickly. "I—I didn't think you were, b—but…"

"But?"

"I—I—I s—saw you—you go t—to school a f—few times with those th—things in—in your p—pockets…" Gaara stammered around the sleeve that was now in his mouth. "B—but you don't have them w—when you come h—home…"

Kankurou blinked slowly and turned away from him. He had known this would happen eventually; with Temari or Gaara he hadn't been sure. Gaara wasn't stupid, he could always notice the little things and put two and two together, even if he didn't confront or voice his conclusions. He twirled back and forth in his chair with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Itachi…bought those drugs yesterday morning," Kankurou told him. "He—he bought them from me."

Gaara stared wide eyed at him, taking in what he hadn't suspected. Memories floated back to him as he remembered things that pointed to this fact.

**Flashback**

"_Ichu Meato." Gaara said. "Who's that?"_

"_Here," Kankurou took the phone. "Yeah?" he said into it. "….what? are you serious?...when….alright I'll be there." Kankurou hung up and got off the bed. "I have to go. I'll be back later, kay?"_

"_Where're you going?"_

"…_out…"_

_

* * *

_

"_I thought you would give me a discount cause that was nice of me."_

"_A discount?" Gaara asked, looking up at his brother._

_Kankurou laughed. "He buys candy from me sometimes." _

_

* * *

_

"_You," their father said, "better get your sorry ass to school before I forget the deal we made. I'm sure that bastard would love to know the dark secrets of his precious big brother."_

_

* * *

_

**End Flashback**

"Is that what you and U—Ukon were talking about…and what dad's always threatening you with?" he asked quietly.

"Mhmm…I didn't want you to know…Temari doesn't know either. I guess I like being a cool big brother to you two. I didn't want you to think less of me because of it."

"That's w—where you get all that money from? The money you buy my clothes with? A—and the make up and stuff for Temari?"

"Yeah, that money is for you guys and whatever you need. I'm saving up so I can take you two away from here. You don't deserve any of this; _none_ of it. You have no idea how happy it makes me that you had fun with Neji…that you _have_ Neji," Kankurou told him, with a smile.

"And you have Kyu! And Temari has Shikamaru!" Gaara said smiling.

"Yea—what? Temari has what?"

"Shi…kamaru…"Gaara said, blinking in confusion.

Kankurou stared at him with a blank face. "_Who_?"

"Sh—Sh—Shikamaru!" Gaara stammered.

"Who's that?"

"T—Temari's boyfriend…"

Kankurou stood and walked out of the room. "Temari!" he shouted.

"What?" she called from the kitchen.

Kankurou stormed down the stairs, ignoring their father's shouts for silence, leaving Gaara alone in the room staring after him. With a sigh, he looked down at himself and realized he wasn't wearing a shirt and automatically wrapped his arms around himself. Peeking out of Kankurou's room, he searched for signs of movement, then quietly snuck across the hall to the room there. Swallowing nervously, he opened the door and looked in. Neji's hoodie was still lying on the floor where his father had thrown it. Shaking slightly in fear, Gaara ran into the room, grabbed the hoodie and ran back out to Kankurou's room and hid behind the bed, hugging the material, still damp from the rain close to him.

Burn this he would not!

* * *

When Kankurou came back upstairs from his interrogating his sister, which ended up with Temari showing her evil side, which ended up in a shouting match, which ended with their father coming down and yelling at them to be quiet, Gaara was sleeping on floor on the opposite side of the bed closest to the window. Kankurou went over to him and saw that he was tightly hugging Neji's hoodie to him, and smiled. Bending down, he gently lifted Gaara up off the floor and placed him on the bed then laid down himself. Gaara sniffed and opened his eyes sleepily.

"Hey…Go back to sleep," Kankurou said, patting his arm and turning the main lights off. "You like that hoodie dontcha?"

"Neji's…" Gaara mumbled, eyes half closed.

"I know," Kankurou said smiling.

"I love Neji," Gaara's sleepy voice murmured.

"I know you do," Kankurou said. "He loves you too."

"He told me he did…" Gaara whispered before falling back asleep.

Kankurou's smile widened and he laid back staring at the ceiling. He felt very happy, but something was bothering him. It was a little tiny nagging thing in the back of his mind, but he dismissed it and closed his eyes, thinking of Gaara and Temari and of Kyu. Quite happy indeed.

* * *

The next day was very quiet for the three of them. None of them did much at all. Gaara went back and forth from Temari and Kankurou's room, trying to entertain himself. It didn't really work; Kankurou wasn't doing much other then reading and listening to music and he didn't really understand what was going on in Temari's chat room. Kankurou had laughed at him as he came in for the fifth time and said that he'd never seen him so restless.

"There's nothing to do," Gaara mumbled.

"Call Neji." Kankurou suggested.

Gaara made an unsure face and looked away. "I don't wanna bother him again…"

"Call Haku, he'll be thrilled."

"I don't know Haku's phone number…"

"It's in my phone."

"I don't wanna talk to Haku…"

Kankurou propped his head up on his elbow and gave him a look. "You're just excited about tonight, you know," he said. "Call Neji, he'll wanna know you're ok."

"But, I don't wanna bother him…"

"Gaara," Kankurou said, giving him a look. "Think about it. You won't be bothering him."

Sighing, Gaara left the room again and went down stairs to find the phone.

* * *

Later that night, Kankurou felt his phone vibrate against his leg. He turned his head phones off and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"I want to make a purchase," said the voice on the other end. Kankurou recognized it, but couldn't place it. "Meet me at the usual spot by the Graffiti alley."

Kankurou sighed. "When?"

"Now would be good. I need some shit."

"Fine. I'll be there. Ten minutes."

Kankurou hung up and tossed his phone to the side. Stupid druggies. He was ok to leave though. He wouldn't have to worry about anyone being home alone with their father. Temari had already left to go to a party and he could be back long before she was. Their father had already said Gaara could go to Neji's soccer game and he would probably stay with Neji afterwards as well.

As if on cue, Gaara knocked and came in sitting down on the floor. He'd just gotten out of the shower so his hair was still wet. Kankurou smiled at the back of his head. Gaara had been doing that for a very long time now; just randomly come into his room when he was there. He'd sit down on the floor next to his bed and just stay there. Sometime he would talk, but usually he just sat. He'd started doing it at night when he was little, Kankurou remembered. When he developed his insomnia from the nightmares his father left him with, he'd come in and just sit by his bed. As they grew older and his father got worse, he came in more often. He felt safe with Kankurou even if they didn't say anything to each other. It made Kankurou feel good, knowing Gaara, who rarely trusts anyone anymore, trusted him.

"Hey," Kankurou said, moving over to look over the bed at him. "What time are you leaving?"

"Fifteen minutes," Gaara replied as if he'd been counting down the minutes and seconds.

'_Shit..'_ He must have made a weird face as he rolled back to the middle of the bed because Gaara turned around to face him and asked what was wrong. "Nothing," Kankurou replied. "I've just gotta go somewhere in about five minutes."

"You can go," Gaara said. "You don't have to stay with me all the time."

"I know," Kankurou said. "I just don't want anything to happen. I donno why, I just got a bad feeling."

"Go, I'll be fine," Gaara said frowning. "Its only ten minutes and I can leave early if you want. I'm just walking to the school."

"You sure?" Kankurou asked, giving him a stern look.

"Yes."

"Ok," Kankurou said, slipping his head phones back on. Gaara looked at him judgingly for a minute then turned back around to face the door.

"You're going with that stuff aren't you?"

Kankurou closed his eyes, pained, and stopped himself from turning his music back on. He slipped the headphones off his ears again and turned back to Gaara. "Yeah," he said quietly. "Are you upset?"

"I—I donno…" Gaara said, looking down at his knees. "I don't like it…but I'm not your boss…"

"I care about what you think."

"B—but it's a good thing you're doing with it…I'm all confused…" Gaara told him.

Kankurou grinned lopsided at the back of his head. "I'll stop if you want me to…"

Gaara shrugged slightly and left it at that. After the short five minutes were up, Kankurou got up and grabbed his coat and cell phone. Gaara watched him, his face blank, not letting anything he was thinking get out. Kankurou smiled down at him and ruffled his still damp hair as he turned to the door.

"Have fun," he said.

"'kay," Gaara said, smiling back.

Kankurou left going out the back door and cutting through the backyard since it was faster.

* * *

Gaara sat in his own silence for the next few minutes. He didn't know what to think about this. Drugs were bad. Very bad. But Kankurou was using them to help Temari and him, so it was good, but still bad. He was worried Kankurou would get hurt, but Kankurou could take care of himself and wouldn't do anything that would hurt him and Temari.

Kankurou had finally gotten a clock in his room and Gaara glanced at it. All thoughts of Kankurou disappeared when he realized it was time to leave. He got up and left the room, pulling Neji's hoodie on over his long sleeve t shirt so he wouldn't forget to give it back to him. Smiling happily to himself, he headed down stairs.

Just as he reached the last step, the front door opened and three men walked in.

Gaara froze. No warning. No where to hide.

Why were _they_ here?

His father's friends.

They saw him almost immediately and sadistic grins spread across their faces. Gaara turned and tried to run, hoping to get out the back door, but they grabbed him and held him down.

"Where're you going?" they demanded.

"My dad knows I'm going!" Gaara cried. "He said it was ok!"

"Yeah, sure he did," they said sarcastically, dragging him up the stairs. They opened the door to his father's room and tossed him on the floor. His father looked up from where he sat on his bed with his lap top. "You're letting this kid leave?" they asked.

"He's going to some shitty school thing with his boyfriend," his father said, waving it off.

"What are we suppose to do then?"

"We can't have some entertainment?"

Gaara glared at the floor as he slowly stood. They called beating him for stupid reasons they randomly came up with entertainment?

The man closest to him seemed to read him mind. He moved up to Gaara and grabbed his chin. "Not that kind of entertainment," he said. "Not tonight at least." Gaara gave him a confused look then gasped as he reached down and groped the inside of his legs. Gaara tried moving away but the other two came and held him down. "So you like boys do you?"

Gaara whimpered and tried to squirm away from them, but they held him tight. They looked at his father in question.

His father shrugged and lit a cigarette. "I don't care," he said, before turned back to whatever he'd been doing.

* * *

Neji stepped out on the field and stood in his position, totally focused on the game. He stared the other team members down, getting into a stance he could move quickly in. He glanced back at his other team mates. Any differences were settled here; they weren't important now. The crowd was cheering loudly, but their faces were blank blurs to all players on the field. Breath was baited as the ref slowly walked out onto center field, placing the white and black ball in its starting position.

The ref spoke a few words for the players, but Neji didn't hear him. He'd heard the words before and didn't need to hear them again. He'd memorized them. The ref brought the whistle to his lips, but didn't blow it right away. The crowd watched, quiet for once, waiting for the whistle to blow. Neji felt as though he could break the tension in the air just by blowing on it.

Damn he loved this.

The ref blew his whistle and the battle began.

* * *

**_  
_**

Kankurou trudged grudgingly down the street with his hands shoved into his pockets. It was pretty warm out for an evening. He didn't need to take his coat; it was just out of habit. He let his thoughts drift around as he walked. His feet knew where to go. His thoughts fell on his brother and sister and why he was doing this in the first place. It was stupid he knew. But it was all his mind could come up with when he first sold someone stuff he'd stolen out of his father's cabinet and realized how much this stuff made.

Temari was guessing, he was sure. She wasn't stupid and he knew she heard the rumors at school when he got expelled…the first three times. If she didn't get that she was denser then he thought. But she said anything to him. He never told her either. He wouldn't have told Gaara if he hadn't asked him. He didn't want to get their hopes up. They were so close. They could leave, be free.

The guy he was meeting wasn't there. Maybe he was running late. Kankurou didn't think about it and it didn't bother him. He leaned against the graffitied wall and looked up at the sky. Waiting, his thoughts wandered again.

* * *

Temari didn't bother to knock as she entered the house emitting loud music and shouts of teens. No one else was knocking. As she entered so smiled and greeted the people standing by the door. The host of the party ran over to her squealing in delight then led her deeper in the house. Temari passed her classmates, some she knew from school some she'd never seen before, all drunk or high or near to one or both. But they were all here to have fun. She was to, but it was for a different reason. She took the glass the host handed her, smelling strongly of alcohol then turned and looked for a place to sit and drown her troubles.

* * *

Kankurou frowned. His druggie was late. He stared at his watch for the sixteenth time, glaring at the time. He was about to leave when he heard footsteps tapping on the gravel around the corner. Kankurou half turned towards the noise, eye brows rising, first in surprise then in anger.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

* * *

Gaara screamed. He couldn't help it. They told him to be quiet, he'd always listened before, but the pain had never been like this. Each time he screamed, another blow came, followed by more of the torture. He ran out of tears to cry but his face was still soaked and his ears were ringing with the laughter of his tormentors. It hurt so bad, it was beyond description for him. Something wet was running down his legs and he highly suspected that it was his own blood. His throat was raw from all his shouting. Calling desperately for his brother, but Kankurou wasn't home, wasn't in the area. He didn't know where he was. The four around him reminded him of this constantly, laughing at his pain. They jeered and laughed and hit him and hurt him. Not stopping, not giving him any peace.

He would have preferred being alone in the dark place.

"What would your precious Neji think of you now?"

The words hit him harder then anything. They made him die inside. His insides crumbled and began to feel cold and numb. He wrapped his arms around himself trying to get warm again, but couldn't. He wasn't physically cold.

Neji.

'…_no…'_

They hit him, seeing he wasn't paying them attention, and yelled. Some one else grabbed him and the pain started again afresh. His arms were wrenched from his sides, rendering him helpless against everything.

He would have preferred being alone in the dark place.

* * *

Kankurou got off the wall and glared at the boy standing by the entrance to the alley.

"I thought I told you I didn't want to see your face again," Kankurou said angrily.

"Oh, I know," Itachi said, smirking. "It's just that…I had to see your face."

"What?"

"I wanted to see your face…when it gets arrested."

Kankurou's eyes widened as the sound of a police car siren. Itachi turned and darted away, down a side alley. Kankurou darted after him, knowing that was the safest route out. He didn't get far though, as a pair of hands grabbed him from behind, pulling him off balance. He shook the hands off and started running again. This time several pairs of hands grabbed him from all angles and pulled him down. He fought, but there were more of them and he soon found himself pinned face down, nose bleeding, and his hands being cuffed behind his back. Desperate, he tried to think of a way out of this, but nothing came to him.

He was caught.

* * *

Temari glared at the fourteenth boy that sat next to her, trying to hook up with her. Disregarding all previous methods, she kicked him where it counts and let him slump away clutching the pained area groaning. Temari rolled her eyes and finished her drink, then got up and walked over to get more. She found a more deserted area and crawled into it, thinking of her brothers.

Kankurou and Gaara dealt with their problems together. They were each other's security blankets of a sort. They both always made sure that she was ok, but she could tell that she was more distant then they were to each other. She was jealous of it, but she knew that they needed it, especially Gaara. This was her way out. She glared at the cup in her hand. She was already feeling strange.

How many had she had so far?

Four large glasses?

She didn't care anymore and started drinking the rest of her glass.

* * *

Gaara fell to the ground as the man holding him pulled himself out of him and threw him to the ground. He shivered and shook with pain. Blood was running down his legs and onto the floor, but no one seemed to care. His nose was bleeding, so was his mouth, it was hard to breath.

Cracking his eyes open, he saw a pair of feet near his head. He looked up and saw his father looking down at him. With a shaking hand he reached out and took the edge of his father's pants.

"Please….dad….it hurts, daddy…please stop…I'm sorry, I'm sorry!…please…"

His father stared down at him, his face emotionless, not answering. He glanced at his friend as he reached out and picked Gaara up off the floor, laughing. Shoving Gaara's face into his waist he laughed harder as Gaara whimpered, but complied, too hurt to care.

"Stop. That's enough."

The three men stopped laughing and stared at him, then backed off. Gaara's father took him from his friend and stood him up onto his feet, but Gaara couldn't support his own weight and fell back to the floor with a dull thud.

"Gaara!" his father snapped sternly. "Get dressed and get out. Now."

After some how getting most of his clothes on, Gaara crawled away, out of the room and into the bathroom. Hurt, pain, disgust, shame. That was all he knew. Blood was quick to soak through his clothes and drip onto the floor, but Gaara didn't see it.

'_What would you precious Neji think of you now?'_

'_No…'_ Gaara sobbed, shaking all over. They stole him. They stole him from the one person he had ever loved. He was broken inside and so dirty outside. He would never be able to clean it off.

Why was he so weak?

Why couldn't he ever fight back?

What did he ever do that was so wrong?

* * *

Neji frowned as he darted through the crowd of people. Many were trying to congratulate him, but they were only getting in his way. He ran up to his uncle and two cousins; he hadn't even bothered to change out of his uniform.

"Where's Gaara?" Neji asked, panting.

"Hello to you too," Hanabi said, sourly in her eight year old-trying-to-sound-older voice.

"He's not here," Hinata replied in her soft slow voice. "He didn't come."

"What do you mean he didn't come?" Neji cried, panic spreading across his face.

"He's not here, Neji," his uncle told him. "Perhaps…he…" he stopped, Gaara wouldn't have forgotten, "…couldn't make it."

Neji's eyes widened and he turned and ran away from them, rushing towards the street. Someone grabbed his arm, yanking him back. Turning angrily, his eyes fell on his uncle who was looking at him in confusion.

"What the fuck?" he shouted. "Let me go!"

"Neji! Calm down!" Hiashi said, shaking him slightly.

Neji was beyond calming down. "I need to get to Gaara's!"

"I'll take you, come on."

* * *

Light blurred. Dark blurred. Sound blurred. Everything blurred. It was like looking through a magnifying glass at the wrong angle. She was in a car. One of the host's friends who hadn't drunken a drop of alcohol was driving her home. She had tried to call Kankurou, but she couldn't find the number in her drunken mind and the buttons were unfocused. She was sitting in the passenger's side, vaguely aware of the seat belt holding her down and the motion of the car. She stared at the lights as they went by, dazzled by their brilliance. She smiled at them and pointed one out to the girl driving.

The girl screamed.

Glass shattered. Metal scraped. The light blinded her.

Temari's world went completely black.

* * *

Gaara stared wide-eyed, terrified at the closed bathroom door as the door to his father's room opened and the four men stepped out. _'Please don't come in here!'_ was the only thought screaming in head. He didn't want them to see him like this. They would find it amusing, his pain, but then he never wanted to see them again anyway.

They didn't come in though. They went downstairs and left the house. He heard their cars pull away.

He didn't know when he stood up, but he suddenly found himself staring into the mirror over the sink. He found himself hating the creature that stared back. It's scrawny, scared and vulnerable body shaking like a scared dog. Red hair was plastered to his forehead from sweat, or hanging lank and lifeless from his head. Green eyes, red from the salty tears that soaked his face, showed every hurting emotion he felt like a book. He realized that putting his clothes back on had been a useless movement. His father and his friends had torn at them to get them off of him. His shirt and pants were in rags, showing his scars and burns. Neji's hoodie was still in his father's room somewhere.

He held up his shaking hands and looked down at them, then back up at the mirror.

"I hate you!" he screamed at the creature in the mirror, who silently screamed back. He grabbed the mirror in a blinding fury, tearing it from the wall and threw it on the floor. It shattered, sending glass in every direction. There were pieces in his bare feet and legs, but he didn't notice. He screamed in pain from the hurting emotions that filled him to the brim, spilling over and obscuring his thoughts. Dropping to the floor, gasping for breath, he noticed a rather large, jagged piece not far from his hand.

* * *

Neji nervously chewed on his thumb nail as Hiashi drove him to Gaara's house.

Something had happened. Something big, and something very bad. Where was Kankurou? He wouldn't have let him miss the game. Kankurou would have made sure he was there, even if his father said no. They were almost there, but they hit the last red light.

Neji silently cursed. This light always took forever. Groaning loudly, he quickly took his seatbelt off and opened the door. Hanabi freaked out and yelled at him to get back into the car, but he ignored her. As soon as his feet hit the ground he took off, causing screeching cars and angry drivers as he ran across the road, but he didn't hear them. He ran all the way to the house.

As he turned onto Gaara's street he saw four cars turning out. One was Gaara's father. He didn't see Neji though, and Neji didn't want to waste any time. He ran up to the door, pulling it open and darted inside. He paused, not sure of where to start looking for Gaara. He heard a shatter and a scream of agony from upstairs. Mounting them three at a time, he reached the top and grabbed the bathroom door, yanking it open.

Though what happened next only took about six seconds, it felt like forever to Neji. When he opened the door, he saw Gaara sitting on the floor, bruised and torn, bleeding badly with glass all around him and embedded in him. He had a piece of glass in his hand, ready to cut himself open, stopping the physical and emotional pain he was obviously going through. He seemed delirious and didn't answer when Neji called to him. As he called, he ran over and grabbed his hand, preventing the blow.

"Stop it Gaara! Don't do it!" Neji shouted, wrestling the glass from the boy's hand, accidentally cutting his own hand in the process. He didn't know why he shouted. Maybe he was scared, or thought Gaara wouldn't hear him if he didn't.

"No!" Gaara screamed, breaking the grip on his wrist. He cowered away, sobbing as he did. "D—don't hurt me! Don't touch me! Please don't touch me!"

"Gaara stop! It's ok! It's me, Neji!" Neji said.

Gaara stared at him like a scared child. He seemed to realize that it was him, but that made it worse. "No! Go away! Don't look at me!" he cried, covering his face with his arms and trying to back away from him. "Please! I'm disgusting! Don't look at me! Don't touch me!"

Neji pushed the glass away from the floor and knelt down in front of him. "Why Gaara? What's wrong?" he asked concerned.

"Leave me alone!" Gaara screamed. "Don't look at me, Neji, please! I'm disgusting!"

"What are you talking about?"

Neji tried reaching out to touch him, but as soon as he did, Gaara freaked and moved away, cutting his hands and body on the glass. Neji wrapped his arms around him and held him tight to keep him from cutting himself further. The smaller boy thrashed around, desperate to get away, screaming to not be touched, but Neji didn't let go and he was stronger. Gaara soon lost his energy and collapsed in his embrace, but continued sobbing and begging in a quiet, pitiful voice to not be touched.

"Oh, my God."

Neji looked up at his uncle, standing in the doorway, staring in horror at what he suspected, but never knew. Neji choked on his own sobs and held Gaara tighter, tears streaming down his face.

* * *


	24. Liberation

**Vindicated**

Chapter 24: Liberation

_**(--)Author notes(--)**_

**_Tomorrow is Shu's 18th bday. She wants lots of reviews for presents because she loves them._**

**_Oh, special little shout out to Boi gayness obbsesser, who figured out how to review twice so she could yell at me to hurry up_**

_**Another note: holy freak I got 31 reviews for the last chapter…and I think most of you hate me now cause of what happened I'M SORRY PLEASE DON'T BE MAD AT ME!**_

* * *

Hinata led George down the hall to where Neji sat on a bench across the hall way from the medical unit. Hinata stood before Neji while George set the tray of tea and light biscuits on the small table next to the bench and stood back, waiting. 

"Has there been any word?" Hinata asked.

Neji shook his head, not looking at her, but passed her at the doors across the hall.

Hinata sighed and took a seat next to him. She picked up one of the Japanese style cups and held it for a moment, then held it out for him.

"I'm not thirsty," Neji said, shortly.

"What a shame," Hinata murmured, sipping the tea. "It tastes delicious."

"How can you say that so calmly?" Neji cried staring at her. "Gaara is—"

"Alive and in good hands," she said. "Perhaps I am calm because I do not know him as you do. He is very special to you. But I do not understand, Neji," she said, turning her large white eyes on him, "if you love him…why did you stay so silent?"

Neji hung his head, then leaned back against the wall behind him. "Gaara asked me to," he repeated. "I didn't like it…but I guess I never thought it would go this far…that'd he'd be this hurt…that I…"

"Wouldn't be able to comfort him?" Hinata finished.

"Yeah…now he freaks out every time I come near him," Neji said sadly, staring at the door.

It opened and closed with a soft grinding sound and Hiashi, Hinata's mother, and another man stepped out. Their solemn faces masked their thoughts and what had gone on inside the room. Neji stood hopefully, begging his uncle for some means of good news, while Hinata remained seated behind him, sipping her tea.

"We need to make a few phone calls," Hiashi said, turning with them to walk down the halls. Neji stared after them in disbelief of their ignorance of him, but just before they were a considerable distance from them, Hiashi turned back to him and gave him a stern look. "Neji, do not go in there yet."

"But—"

"No," he ordered, then asked Hinata and George to come with him.

Once they were gone, Neji glanced around then went to the doors and gently put his hand on them, sliding on open just a smidge and peeked in. Then he opened it, just enough so he could squeeze in, and did so.

Gaara was lying on the bed where they had placed him. Neji couldn't see his face or how bad the damage was done, as Gaara had a blanket over him. Quietly as he could, he went up to the bed, but was stopped by a small, quiet, little mouse of a voice.

"I'm sorry, Neji."

"What for?" Neji asked with a small smile. Somehow, hearing Gaara's voice sent a wave of relief washing over him and made him feel better. "It's not your fault. You don't have anything to be sorry for," he added when Gaara didn't say anything, reaching out to touch him.

"No! Don't touch me! Please!" Gaara cried, bringing his arms over his face. As he did, Neji saw his bandaged arms and hands and bit his lip. Flashes of the glass from the mirror sparked in his mind. "Don't touch me! Go away please! I'm sorry!"

"Gaara! It's ok! It's me, I'm not gonna hurt you!" Neji insisted, looking worried.

"No, Neji please! Please don't touch me!" Gaara was trying to move away from him, but it visibly hurt him to move. Neji didn't understand why he was that desperate to get away from him. Did Kankurou have the same trouble?

"But…Gaara—"

"Neji!" Hiashi said, sweeping into the room. "I told you not to come in here yet!"

"How can you tell me that?" Neji cried as Hiashi took his arm and began dragging him out.

"Neji, I need to talk to you."

"No!" Neji cried, straining against his uncle's grip. "I want to stay with Gaara! He needs me! Let me go!" Neji's eyes darted wildly back to Gaara, but the red head was facing away from him now.

Hiashi pulled him out and shut the doors behind them. "Neji, you have to understand what happen before you can even think of going in there," he told him.

"His father hurt him again! I know that! Now let me go in!"

"Rape, Neji."

Neji stopped and stared at his uncle, not sure if he heard him right. "What?"

"He was raped," his uncle repeated, not looking at him. "From what we've learned, his father and his friends made sport of him the entire evening. Neji, I know you've learned about this in school. You must understand what he's going through and why he doesn't want you to see him."

Neji stared at him, almost unable to grasp it. Slowly, he sat down in the chair and stared at the floor. His stomach hurt worse then it had on Saturday. His heart hurt like someone had ripped it out and stomped on it. Gaara was his. No one else's. His. Someone hurt him in a way that made Gaara afraid to be his. Neji didn't know what to do or think. He just wanted to hold him again, but Gaara didn't want to see him.

"W—where's Kankurou?"

"We don't know yet," Hiashi replied. "We're trying to find him and Temari. They both are missing."

"Ojisan…please…I can't take it. I can't stand seeing him like that… Please let me go see Gaara."

"After you get a hold of yourself," Hiashi said, taking both of Neji's shoulders. "Franticness will not help Gaara."

"Hiashi-sama! We found him."

Hiashi gave then a curt nod and stood straighter. He placed a hand on Neji's head, giving him a reassuring smile before turning and following the other Hyuga down the hallway.

* * *

Kankurou stared at the ceiling from where he lay on his cot. It was late, way past midnight, but he couldn't sleep. He was angry and worried. Itachi had tricked him and got his revenge. Now he couldn't see his siblings, couldn't help them if they got hurt. Gaara was with Neji though, but Temari was at a party. What if something happened and she needed to call him? They had taken his cell phone away. Gaara would panic if he came home and Kankurou wasn't there. 

He sat up suddenly as he heard voices speaking out by the counter. He had heard his name. There were two guards out there, but he heard three voices. One he recognized.

What was he doing here?

* * *

The door opened, but Gaara didn't turn towards it. He didn't want anyone to see him, but he couldn't muster the strength to hide under the covers or to tell them he wanted to be alone. 

No, he didn't. He didn't want to be alone; he wanted to be with Kankurou. He wanted his brother and sister to be here. Hiashi had told him he would bring them to him, but he wanted them now. He wanted to be with Neji, but he was scared. If Neji knew how disgusting and dirty he was…He didn't think he could handle that kind of rejection from him. Neji would hate him if he knew. He would tell him how disgusting he was and Gaara would become nothing. He would die.

The bed shifted as someone got on the bed next to him just like they had last week. Gentle arms wrapped around him and a head rest on his small shoulders with a sigh. Gaara whimpered and turned his head as far away as he could, no strength to do anything else.

"You forgot," the voice next to him said softly.

"F—forgot?"

"'I love you. No matter what happens or what anyone says. Don't you dare forget', remember?"

Gaara gasped then squeezed his eyes shut, a big tear sliding down his cheek. Neji leaned in and kissed it away, then gently turned Gaara's head around and gently kiss his trembling lips. Gaara whimpered again and turned his face, breaking the kiss.

"I'm dirty, Neji, don't kiss me…" he pleaded. "I've always been dirty and I'm sorry."

"What do you mean?" Neji asked, reaching out and gently brushing hair off Gaara's bruised face. He paused for a moment then looked Gaara in the eyes. "This has happened before?"

Gaara nodded slightly, unable to look away from Neji's gaze. He felt bare before him. Like Neji could read everything about him and see every secret. Did he want to hide secrets from him? No…but he didn't want Neji to hate him because of them.

"When?"

"B—before w—we came h—here."

"You're father?"

"And…school…" he added, barely audible.

"What?"

"S—someone at m—my old school."

"Some one you use to date?" Neji asked, keeping his expression still and his eyes unmoving.

Gaara stared at him, eyes wide. "H—how did…you…?"

"A guess, I'm sorry," Neji said. "What happened?" he asked, then shook his head. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"H—he was really nice to me at—at first…but then…he started w—wanting to do more…h—he taught me how to—to kiss…'n' stuff…He told me I had too cause that's what people do…but I—I didn't want to and he said he'd leave if I didn't and I didn't want him t—to…then he wasn't nice anymore and—and I—I didn't w—wanna…do that, but he told me I—I had to…then I said I didn't want to—to be with him anymore, and he told everyone at school about my scars."

"That was when Kankurou got expelled, wasn't it?" Neji asked, some pieces coming together. Kankurou's past voice echoed in his mind.

**Flashback**

"_Kids use to take advantage of that…and advantage of him, like I said. He'd never tell us what though, but we use to get a lot of calls home about Gaara getting bullied or getting in 'fights'. When we'd ask him if something bad happened, he'd always answer with the same reply."  
_

"_No nothing bad, don't worry about it."_

_

* * *

_

"_The last 'friend' Gaara had made fun of him in front of like the whole school and embarrassed him real bad. I found out and beat that PUNK ASS KID INTO THE GROUND!"_

**End Flashback**

"But he doesn't know, does he? He just thought you were friends."

Gaara nodded and finally looked away. "I—I didn't want him to—to tell me not to be with him…cause I—I liked him," he mumbled.

"Even though he hurt you?" Neji asked quietly, running his fingers along Gaara's hair line, brushing more away.

"I—I…I don't…I don't know…"

"It's okay," Neji said quietly.

"…I'm sorry…" Gaara murmured desperately.

Neji leaned down and kissed him lightly, letting his hands roam gently as they had on Saturday. Gaara shivered nervously at his touch, but Neji didn't go any further. "You don't have anything to be sorry for. I won't make you do anything you don't want to do. I love you…that wont change, ok?"

"I don't…I don't want to get you dirty too…"

Neji kissed his forehead and smiled down at him, finding his bandaged hand and holding it tight. "Then I'd better start cleaning you up, right?"

Gaara stared at him, then burst into happy tears of joy, flinging his arms around Neji's neck. Neji hugged him back, gently rocking him back and forth.

* * *

"I'm here to discuss the release options of a young man brought here in the evening for the dealing of drugs." 

"Are you a relative?"

"No."

"I'm sorry, visiting hours for none relatives don't start until tomorrow at ten. Sir, it's two in the morning."

"I am aware of the time," Hiashi said nodding. "However, that is only one reason I am here, and Kankurou is greatly tied into this. I'd like to report the physical, emotional and sexual abuse of a boy who is Kankurou's younger brother."

The officers behind the counter sat up straighter and gave him their full attention. "Sir, we take child abuse very serious around here," they told him. "This is a serious accusation that must come with proof. Such as…marks on the child or..."

"Gaara is currently staying at my house where he is recovering from sexual assault from earlier this evening. He is very shy and self conscious and do not want to force him to expose himself. Please allow me to speak to Kankurou. I believe he may be able to give more proof then I, though I have seen enough myself to believe."

Hiashi spent the next two hours interrogating Kankurou with the police listening behind a glass wall with a tape recorder. At first, Kankurou had been unwilling to talk, but Hiashi informed him that Gaara was now being held in the safety of the Hyuga estate, Kankurou gave in and told Hiashi the truth. He even showed Hiashi and the police some of his own old scars from the results of his own abuse. The officers took all they saw and heard down and began filing out the warrant for the arrest.

"Sirs, I have one more question," Hiashi said when they were finished. "Kankurou is a minor and will be for another two months. May he be allowed to stay under house arrest, with a police escort at my place until his court order is filed? Right now, his brother doesn't know where he is and he needs him."

"Why? What happened to Gaara?" Kankurou asked, sitting up, his eyes wide.

"Gaara never came to Neji's game last night," Hiashi said, closing his eyes. "He was…detained."

"'Detained?'" Kankurou asked frowning. "Something happened didn't it? What did he do to Gaara?"

Hiashi slowly stood and acted as though he were about to pace the room, but stopped. "When I got to the house, Gaara was in a state of delusion and was mentally unstable."

"W—what happened?" Kankurou asked, quietly, his voice shaking slightly in worry.

Hiashi sighed, obviously not wanting to be the one who informed Kankurou of this. "You father…and his friends made sexual sport of Gaara last night," he said quietly. "Neji and I arrived at the house before Gaara could harm himself, but a lot of damage had already been done."

"He—he _raped_ him?" Kankurou cried, jumping up. "Oh, my god," he breathed out and fell back onto his chair, the strength in his legs leaving him. He chewed on his thumb nail for a minute then hung his head in his hands, his breath shaky.

"We cannot do anything about releasing him until his first hearing," the police told Hiashi, breaking the tight silence that deafened them all.

"I understand," Hiashi said nodding. He pulled out a piece of folded notebook paper and handed it to them. "These are the license plate numbers of their father and of the three men who aided him in harming Gaara," he told them. As Kankurou looked up, in slight surprise and minor awe he added, "Hanabi saw them and wrote them down."

Kankurou would have laughed at Hanabi's aid, but his thoughts were solely on his brother. His thoughts were already starting to haunt him, tearing at his soul as he thought of ways this could have been avoided. Things he should have done; shouldn't have done. Tears formed in his eyes as he could hear his brother calling his name, begging for help and reprieve from his pain, but Kankurou couldn't hear him. He didn't help him.

That begging voice would haunt him for the rest of his life.

"Kankurou?"

He didn't look up to meet any of their gazes. He wanted nothing more at that moment then to hurt himself. Cut himself open until he made penance for all his foolish and stupid decisions that led to the undeserved pains of his brother, but it would never be enough. He wanted to see him. But how could he face the voice that he didn't answer to? Someone placed a hand on his shoulder, but he flung his arms out, knocking them away.

"Don't touch me!" he shouted, holding his head again.

"Kankurou, you are blaming yourself for something that you couldn't control," someone said. He didn't know who. He didn't care. They were wrong. It was his fault.

"You can call your brother if you want to," someone was saying.

"No," he choked out. "I can't talk to him…I _can't_!"

Hiashi looked down at the suffering teen and sighed. Turning he walked towards the door, pausing with his hand on the knob. "I must go now. I need to find—"

"Where's Temari?" Kankurou asked suddenly, as though he read his mind.

"We don't know," Hiashi answered. "But we will find out, and I promise to inform you when we do find her. She will be at my house with Gaara, when you feel ready to speak to them." And he left, striding out of the building, deep in thought, leaving Kankurou in a state of depression he couldn't pull him out of.

* * *

Check again… 

Breathing. Good. Chest rising and falling. Up, down, up, down. Sleeping. Even better. Dreaming. What was he dreaming? He had a smile on his face. A real smile. A _real_ smile. Was it a nice dream? Or was his beautiful face just stuck even in his unconsciousness on the joy he was feeling? Neji didn't care. Gaara was smiling a real smile.

Neji always wanted to see it.

A small sigh escaped Gaara's lips and he snuggled into the warm body he already had his arms around, clinging to him as though he was afraid he would leave him. Neji held him closer and gently stroked his hair, pulling the thick quilt his aunt had brought around them tighter. It was late, nearly three in the morning, but he wasn't tired. He had school in a few hours, but he didn't care. He could stay home, or he might go for only part of the day. Gaara would tell him to go to school while silently wanting him to stay. He was somewhat sleepy, but how could he sleep when he could watch Gaara do it instead?

His aunt had given Gaara a special tea made out of herbs she, herself, grew and dried. It relieved his pain, while also calming his mind, allowing him to sleep peacefully with out the aid of drugs. She didn't believe in that kind of medicine and only resorted to it when her herbal practice could not cure, which was rare. Neji figured Gaara would be out for a few hours or so with the help of the tea, but might sleep on his own afterwards.

The door to the room slid open quietly and some one stepped in. They weren't trying to be silent, but the gift of soft footing gave away the person who owned it.

"Hinata, come on the other side, I can't turn around, I'll wake him up," Neji said, never looking away from Gaara's face. When she was standing on the other side of the bed, visible beyond Gaara's sleeping form, Neji finally looked up. "Why aren't you sleeping?"

"I have work to do," Hinata said calmly.

"You could at least change; you gotta be uncomfortable in that getup."

Hinata glanced down at her clothes. Black pants, cover from the knees down with shiny high heeled boots, a black sleeveless coat that grew in length as it went around her. Black gloves that came past her elbows completed the outfit. "There is nothing wrong with my outfit."

"Wouldn't you be more comfortable in like…pajama's or something?" Neji asked, being careful to not move a muscle.

"I have been working," she said shortly. "I have matched the license plate numbers to their owners and I have also found Gaara's older sister."

"Really?" Neji asked, looking slightly relieved. "Where is she?"

"At the moment, she's at the hospital about twenty minutes from the school," Hinata replied. "She was in a very bad car accident. She is also very intoxicated, but is alive and recovering."

"She was drunk?" Neji asked, in surprise. Temari's smiling face came into his mind. She didn't seem like the type to drink.

"I do not know her story," Hinata replied, sitting calmly in a chair by the bed. "I have called Daddy's car and left a message with George. He will most likely bring Temari here."

"Where did ojisan go?"

"To speak to Kankurou."

"Where was Kankurou?"

"In jail."

"What!" Neji cried then, his eyes darted down to Gaara, fearing he might have woken him. Gaara hadn't moved though, save for when Neji's sat up a little. "What do you mean he's in jail?" he demanded in a hushed whisper.

"Kankurou was arrested earlier in the evening for dealing drugs," Hinata replied.

"Damn…" Neji muttered.

"Neji, mom wants you to go to bed," Hinata told him, after a few minutes of silence.

"I'll sleep here," Neji said, frowning slightly.

"That is what you told her earlier, but you haven't slept at all."

"Stalker."

"You won't help Gaara by being so tired when he wakes up. It's better to sleep while he's sleeping, then sleep when he's awake and have him be alone."

Neji flinched and looked down at the sleeping boy. What she said was true, but how could he leave him? He just got him back. And the fact that Gaara was clinging to him for dear life wasn't going to help the situation either. He did want to go to sleep, but Gaara looked so pretty lying there, how could he miss it?

The door opened again and his aunt swished into the room. "Neji-kun, I demand that you go to bed. I will explain to Gaara where you are when he wakes up," she said, going over to the bed.

"But—"

"No buts, let go of Gaara," she commanded, gently prying the small thin arms off of her nephew so he could get up off the bed.

Neji stretched, his back cracking soundly from the lack of movement. He stood there, unwilling to leave until Hinata took his arm and pulled him out of the room. He walked with his eyes looking over his shoulder, silently apologizing to him. He couldn't help feeling like he was abandoning him.

* * *

A few hours later, around six in the morning, Neji stumbled down the stairs to the kitchen for breakfast. He looked enviously at Hinata who was already awake and dressed for school as though she had slept for hours. Hanabi was unusually quiet that morning as she munched on her muffins and sipped her milk, casting small glances at the older Hyugas around her. 

His aunt turned at smiled at him, then she gasped. "Why are you out of bed?" she cried.

Neji blinked sleepily. Didn't he have school today? But then he realized she was looking passed him and turn around, startled to see Gaara standing in the doorway, leaning against it for support.

"I—I have to go to school," Gaara said quietly, gripping the door post, shaking slightly. It hurt to move.

"No!" she cried, sweeping passed her two girls and nephew. "No! You are _not_ going to school! You are going to go back to bed! You're still not well!"

"N—no! I—I have to! I can't m—miss any more days, I'll fail! And then I—I'll in t—trouble!" Gaara insisted. "I n—need to get dressed. W—where are my clothes?"

"No, you are staying here!" she insisted, wagging a finger at him. "You will stay here and sleep and eat as much food as you want. And watch TV and play games and wait for Neji to come home from school. Understand?"

Gaara shrunk away from her and nodded, staring at the floor. Kind as her scolding was, it was still scolding and he was afraid she would yell at him. Or tell him to get out of her house and never come back. He loved this house. He never wanted to leave. Neji stumbled over to him and gave him a sleepy smile, his head tilting to the side. Gaara looked up at him, nervousness and worry on his face. He almost thought what had happened was a dream. Neji didn't really say those things last night did he? He didn't really forgive him for being such a horrible person. No one could be that forgiving could they?

"Good morning," Neji said, quietly, reaching out to touch his cheek. "Did you sleep well?"

Gaara blinked a few times and let his eyes dart around nervously. "Y—yes…" he whispered.

"Good," Neji replied smiling, wider. He put his arm around Gaara's shoulders and pulled him into a warm embrace. Gaara went ridged, slowly relaxed as he began to realize that yes, someone could be that forgiving. Neji still loved him.

* * *

Milky white walls ceiling, dark stained wood walls. Everything in the traditional Japanese style. The Hyuga house was an interesting place to be in; he'd do anything to be able to live in a place like this. However, Gaara was bored. He had already memorized the wood panels and the paint textures on the ceiling. Now he had nothing to do. He was alone in his thoughts and memories. Temari was somewhere in the house. Mrs. Hyuga told him so. Somewhere. Somewhere safe. Where was safe? Why couldn't he see here? 

Mrs. Hyuga had expected him to sleep, so she hadn't left him with anything to do or read. Sleep? How could he sleep? If he fell asleep, his father would come and take him away. If he closed his eyes just for a minute, he would travel back in time and have to go through the thing that nearly tore him away from reality for ever.

The house was very quiet. Everyone was at work, school, or going about their business elsewhere. Neji had taken him to this room and sat with him until he had to go to school. Gaara found out that morning that he liked getting his stomach rubbed when Neji rubbed his stomach to calm him down. He hadn't wanted Neji to leave him, nearly going into a panic attack at the thought of Neji leaving him. But Neji had sat with him and whispered to him, rubbing his stomach until he calmed down. Mrs. Hyuga would come in and check on him periodically, but other then that he was alone. She wasn't supposed to come check on him for another while.

Slowly and painfully he sat up. His body hurt everywhere. He was sore. Very sore. Mrs. Hyuga said his arm was almost better, but everywhere else wasn't healing as fast as they could have, they still hurt horribly. He slipped his bare feet onto the floor, wrapping the blankets around his bare body, blushing at his nakedness. The Hyuga's had left a kimono made out of smooth silk like material for him when they moved him, it had been what he had found and worn on his journey to the kitchen. The medicines and aloe that was tenderly spread on him by Neji's aunt forbid him to wear anything while lying in bed.

Blushing darkly in shame, though no one was there to see him, he limped over to the hanging material and slipped it on, trying the sash around his waist. He liked the feel of the material and the swishing sound it make when he moved his arms.

Holding onto the wall or walking as slow as possible, he stepped out into the hallway like he had that morning and made his was down the hall. As he did, he realized the house wasn't as quiet as his room had made it to be.

Was that the wind? Was a window open somewhere and making that horribly sad crying noises? Was it a person? Who could be that sad? Why were they crying?

With these questions floating in his head, he continued his slow, painful journey down the hallway to where he was sure the crying was coming from. His paranoid mind made him glance back over his shoulder to look wildly at the dark hallway behind him. He was so sure he kept hearing foot falls. The same ones that kept him awake at night. The same one's that scared him so much that he'd wake Kankurou up at night if he heard them. The foot falls would have a face, and the face had a voice. It would yell and scold him for being the worthless, stupid, ugly boy he was. The familiar words of his father were starting to loose their razor edge, though he didn't notice it. He was beginning to understand that Neji thought he was worth the world. Neji thought he was a genius. Neji thought he was beautiful. Neji loved him. No one came behind him. The foot falls were his imagination that disappeared at the thought of Neji's words of 'I love you'. So simple, yet so powerful.

He was there. It wasn't the wind, someone was really crying and it was coming from behind the closed door he was standing in front of. He tried to open the door, but his fingers were weak and he had no strength left. Leaning against the wall, panting slightly in his efforts, he knocked gently, hoping for a reply.

Inside the crying was stifled and a sobbing voice, laced with emotional agony cried out, "Go away!"

Startled, Gaara forced strength into his fingers and pried the sliding door open just enough to peek inside the pitch black room. "T—Temari?" he asked, his voice quavering.

The sobbing stopped completely and was replaced with sad and scared sniffing. "Gaara?"

Ignoring his screaming body, Gaara shoved into the room and ran over to the bed, throwing his arms around his sister. Temari held him close, almost sobbing again in relief, but she stopped herself. She didn't want Gaara to see her tears.

"Temari…why were you crying?" he asked, tilting his head up to see her face. The room was dark, hiding her face, but the light from the open door reflected in her shiny eyes and damp face. She closed her eyes as he reached up to wipe them away with the sleeve of his kimono, then looked at her expectantly.

"I didn't know where you were," she said, placing a hand in his hands. "I just woke up and I don't know how I got here, or where I am…and head hurts really bad."

"Neji's uncle brought you here from…well I don't know where, but we're at Neji's house," Gaara told her. "I heard you crying…I thought it was the wind."

Temari was quiet after he spoke. Gaara didn't know it, but she suddenly was remembering why she hurting, not just in her head, but the rest of herself as well.

"Temari?"

"Hm?"

"Why do you have bandages on you?" Gaara's small voice, riddled with curiosity questioned her as though he read her thoughts. She felt his small and ridiculously thin fingers touch her face, moving to her lip where she herself had felt stitches earlier. They moves up to her forehead and found another bandage wrapped around her head. By the time they got that far, his hands were shaking. Temari took them gently, but they didn't stop. "A—are you…h—hurt?"

"I'm fine, it's ok," she said calmly.

"N—no you're n—not! You're hurt! H—how d—did you…g—get—"

"Gaara it's ok, calm down," Temari cooed quietly. "I was in a car accident last night…that's all I remember, ok?"

"All you remember?"

"I…I don't remember what I was doing before," she lied. She didn't want Gaara to know about that. She gently rubbed his shaking hands. "You're all bandaged up too," she said. "What happened to your hands?"

"I—I cut them o—on some glass…"

"Gaara!"

Gaara jumped and darted back into her arms, only hearing the yell, not the tone. It was Neji's aunt. He had disobeyed and left the room. Now he was in trouble and she was going to yell at him. Temari looked down at him in surprise and loosely wrapped her arms around him as the door opened and a dark silhouette stepped in.

"Oh, there you are," she said, breathing a sigh of relief. "You shouldn't be walking around, you'll hurt yourself more."

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I—I heard s—someone….I'm sorry," he stammered out, squeezing his eyes shut, expecting some sort of punishment.

"It's ok, honey, I just didn't know where you were," she said, placing a hand on his arm, ignoring the fact that he flinched at her touch. "Why did you leave the room? You're supposed to be sleeping!"

Temari silenced Gaara's stream of stammering responses with a gentle hand over his mouth and brought him back to bury his face in her stomach. "He heard me crying and came to see who it was," she told her. "He didn't want to sleep."

The woman closed her large white eyes as she sighed slightly. "I was afraid you wouldn't," she said. "But Temari needs to rest herself, would you like to come into the main building with me?"

Gaara peeked out at her then looked up at his sister. She smiled and nodded encouragingly, so he reluctantly backed away from her and shyly took the Hyuga's out stretched hand and followed her out, turning to look back at his sister who blew him a kiss before the door shut behind them.


	25. We Are Vindicated

**Vindicated**

Chapter 25: We Are Vindicated

_**Shul would like to thank everyone who has reviewed for  
**_**_both times Vindicated was up and those who've read it silently._**

_**I hope you have enjoyed it.**_

* * *

_Fear is defined as a distressing emotion aroused by impending pain, danger, evil, whether imaginary or not. Fear makes a person think, feel or do things that he or she normally wouldn't. It can drive one insane. The human mind dwells on what caused the fear so much that it instinctly multiplies the danger or pain that in turn multiplies the fear and obstructs its thoughts._

Kankurou swallowed hard as the car began to turn into the driveway. His younger siblings were in there. The ones who counted on him for everything; the ones he let down. What if Temari was badly hurt? What if Gaara hated him? What would he say if they asked him why he didn't come to save them?

How could he face them?

His breath caught in his throat as he saw the front door of the main house. A small someone was sitting on the porch steps, poking little rocks on the ground. A dark green silky looking kimono was wrapped around his small frame, fitting amazingly perfect—not too big or baggy; hair was dark from being damp, perhaps a shower or bath. Kankurou looked away from his brother. Gaara looked up when the car pulled up. He didn't smile, he didn't get up. He just looked. He'd been waiting for them.

Hiashi led the way up to the dark wood door behind the unmoving boy, but stopped, turning to look back at Kankurou who was standing frozen with his police escort, hands still cuffed behind his back. The two officers that came with them saw Gaara, immediately knowing this was the younger brother, the one who was abused and, like Hiashi, knew instantly that they needed no more proof.

Kankurou couldn't move. The same fear of rejection Gaara had felt towards Neji, he now felt towards Gaara. He didn't know what to say. What could he say that would make Gaara still love and trust him? Nothing. There was no compensation. A long moment of silence between the five settled until one of the officers bit their lip and gently nudged Kankurou over to stand in front of his brother.

"….Hi," Gaara said quietly, glancing up at him with shy green eyes.

Kankurou stared at him. Why didn't he yell? _Gaara never yells._ Kankurou couldn't remember Gaara ever raising his voice for anything. Why didn't he accuse him? _Gaara never blames anyone for anything._ He couldn't be blaming himself for this could he? _Please god, no! _Why didn't he look afraid? ….Gaara trusted him?

"Gaara…I…I'm….I'm so sorry!" Kankurou whispered, unable to express his feelings to his brother who was looking up at him with child like trusting eyes. "I'm sorry Gaara!" He hung his head, handcuffs preventing him from hiding his pain.

He looked up when he felt a tug on his shirt and watched as Gaara used him as a balance to pull himself up to stand on shaking legs. With a small sigh of relief from his efforts, Gaara wrapped his arms around his brother's middle and buried his face in his chest then looked up at him with bright excited eyes. "Did you know there's an ice cream that has cookie dough in it?"

Kankurou blinked and nearly choked on his words. "W—what?"

"Yeah! And I ate almost entire thing of it…in the living room!" he added as if he still couldn't quite believe it himself. He had never been aloud to eat desert, let alone in the living room. His face was excited, wanting to share it with his bother, but behind the excitement Kankurou saw pain. And the pain was all he cared about. Fear obstructing his reasoning thoughts. As Gaara spoke the officers came up behind them and took off Kankurou's silver bindings, but he didn't notice.

At Gaara's carefree, childlike excitement, Kankurou bit his lip and completely lost it. He grabbed Gaara's shoulders and pulled him away from him, giving him a little shake. "How can you talk about ice cream of all things?" he cried.

"I—I just wanted to tell you," Gaara said, his smile faltering slightly.

"Why?" Kankurou demanded, not understanding Gaara's actions at all.

"C—cause I—I saved you s—some…"

"Why aren't you mad at me? Why aren't you upset?" Kankurou cried, shaking him again, as though that would bring Gaara to his senses.

"W—why would I be mad at you?" Gaara asked, staring up at him, completely confused.

"Why _wouldn't_ you be? If I hadn't left I would have been able to…you wouldn't have…you…wouldn't be..so…" Kankurou's words disappeared in his tears and fell to the pale concrete of the stairs. One hand still clutching Gaara's shoulder, Kankurou covered his eyes and sank to the ground. Depression weighting him down as though it was in the very air. Gaara went down with him because of the grip on his shoulder. He looked startled and worried and it sounded in his voice. One Kankurou felt he didn't deserve.

"Kankurou?"

"S—shut up, Gaara!" Kankurou shouted. "I don't understand! You didn't want me to go, but I went anyway! Why can't you just say 'I told you so' and that it's all my fault?"

"…I didn't tell you so…and it's not your fault," Gaara said quietly, sitting on his knees to calm his screaming pains. "B—but if you really think i—it's your fault…I forgive you."

Kankurou stared at him, his face glistening and shook his head in disbelief. "You're so stupid," he whispered as he pulled him close and held his brother tight. Sobbing again, he couldn't belief he ever doubted that Gaara would forgive him. He never felt so relieved or undeserving in his life.

_But in the end…most fear is only dreading something we feel we have no control over, but that kind of fear is only in our heads, and there is really nothing to be afraid of. If trust is present as well._

* * *

"I have called you all hear to discuss something very important that has come to my attention." 

"Haku, couldn't have waited until _after_ school? Instead of making us skip classes to come to this lunch?" Kyu asked quietly.

"No!" Haku insisted.

"What's wrong then?"

"Gaara-chan isn't in school again."

Kyu and the twins sat back in their chairs with a sigh of annoyance. "Gaara's always absent, get use to it," Sakkon said.

"Exactly! That's why I'm worried!" Haku cried. "I know you all know. What if he's really hurt? What if his dad…" he trailed off as his mind wandered in a sea of worry for a while.

"Kankurou'll take care of Birthday boy," Ukon said, nodding in his own reassurance. He leaned on the table and flicked little pieces of rolled up napkins at the next table.

"Kankurou's not in school either," Haku pointed out.

"He's probably home taking care of birthday boy!"

Haku glared at him, flipping loose hairs away from his face. "And another thing," he said.

"What?"

Haku pointed towards the wall where the vending machines stood. Neji was standing there looking half dead and barely able to hold his eyes open. He seemed to think he was standing in front of a machine, not next to one, because he held up a few coins, then dropped them like he was putting money into the machines. He pressed invisible buttons, then reached down like he was picking something up and walked away, bumping into people, nearly running into a wall instead of going through a door. Nearly, because a teacher hurriedly grabbed him and steered him into the right direction.

"He's just tired and on autopilot," Ukon said with a shrug. "That's like C-7."

"That's the Snicker's Bar," Sakkon said, absentmindedly. When he noticed the three staring at him, he glared. "What? I can make funnies too!"

"Any way, I'm just worried," Haku said. "I know Kankurou can take care of Gaara-chan, but why does it seem like _I'm_ the only one who cares that his dad is hurting him?"

"Haku, that's selfish!" Kyu snapped. "I care for Gaara too! Have you even talked to Gaara about this?"

"N—no…"

"Well, I have," she said. "He knows what his father's doing is wrong, but Haku, this has been his life. He's scared of what life would be like without his father. Horrible as he is, he's still his father. Even Kankurou's scared of that. Part of his plan to get his siblings away is that _no one_ knows he and Gaara were abused. We all help in little ways we can…even if it's just to smile and say good morning. Trust me…it means the world to them."

Haku stared down at the table, distress written all over his face. "Temari's not in school either," he said quietly. "She went to a party last night and some one drove her home…no one's seen her or the girl since they left."

Kyu sighed. "I'll call Kankurou, ok? Don't worry so much Haku," she said, smiling. With that she stood and walked out of the cafeteria with Ukon and Sakkon tailing her. "Hey guys?"

"Hm?"

"I called Kankurou last night," she said, turning to face them, her mask of calmness cracking slightly. "He didn't answer his phone…I'm worried."

* * *

Hiashi cleared his throat as his phone rang and he picked it up. "Hello?" 

"I'm starting to loose it, can I go home please?"

Hiashi smiled to himself at his nephew's pleading. "What time is it?"

"Eleven thirty."

"Neji you only have a few more—"

"I know! But please? Please can I go home? I don't want Gaara to be alone…" his voice trailed off.

"Gaara's with Temari and Kankurou," Hiashi told him, stopping at a red light.

"He is? Are they ok?"

"Yes, Temari only has some minor injuries, thankfully," Hiashi said. "The hospital released her to us this morning to our doctors here. She's in the recovery ward at home."

"Well, can I please go home?" Neji begged. "I'm really tired and my teachers are all sending me to the nurse cause they think I'm sick or something."

Hiashi laughed slightly. "Alright, alright, I'll call the main house and get you a ride. Maybe you can get Gaara to go to sleep as well. Your aunt says he's refusing 'in his own little way' she says."

"Ok, thanks."

* * *

None of the Hyugas knew how Gaara kept slipping past them to get outside, but it happened on a frequent occasion. Neji's aunt muttered that it was because Hiashi sent George out and he was the only person capable of successfully guarding the front door, but no matter who was there, or how many were there, Gaara kept sneaking passed them. Even though it was still morning, he wanted to go outside and wait for Neji. It wasn't like he had anything to do anyway. 

Earlier that day, after Kankurou came, he spend some time with Temari, just lying next to her, collecting his own thoughts and keeping her company.

"Where's Kankurou?" Temari asked him, looking down where he was snuggling against her.

"He's getting sitchy…sich…"

"Situated?" Temari said, smiling.

"Yeah…sorry," he said quietly, apologizing for his speech automatically. "My tummy hurts…"

"Aww…" she cooed, slightly. "How come? Are you hungry?"

"N—no…I—I ate already…Mrs. Hyuga made me breakfast…and I had macaroni and cheese before I came to see you…"

"Maybe you ate too much," Temari suggested, smiling happily at the thought. "You're not use to eating so much in one day are you? You're just full…you should sleep! It'll make you feel better."

"Not tired," he lied in a mumble. He was very tired; the food had made him drowsy, but he was too scared to sleep. Afraid he'd wake up and not be anywhere he knew. Or without someone there with him. The day felt like a dream to him. He didn't want to wake and find it really was a dream. If it was, he'd stay awake forever, never letting it end. Though Temari urged him to sleep, saying she'd watch him and make sure nothing hurt him, but he refused, deciding he'd go for a walk and leave her alone, feeling he was bothering her.

He tried to visit Kankurou, but he still wasn't feeling like himself and had locked himself in the room given to him to while away with his thoughts until Mrs. Hyuga had come and told him that Temari wanted to see him. Then he had locked himself in Temari's room and still hadn't come out. Moving around was starting to hurt more because he was doing it so much. Gaara would have walked around or return to Temari's room, but he discovered his body was limiting him to the living room, kitchen and foyer. And the outside when his boredom over came his nervousness and pain.

Mrs. Hyuga stormed outside, not angry, but concerned to the end of the driveway were Gaara was sitting waiting patiently for her nephew to come home, though he wasn't due for another few hours. "Gaara! Honey, what are you doing?"

"I'm sorry!" he cried, jumping slight. He hadn't heard her come up to him. Thinking she was angry with him, he squeezed his eyes shut and cringed, waiting for some sort of punishment. "I w—was w—waiting for Neji."

"I know you were, honey, but you're not well!" she cried, kneeling down next to him. "Why don't you come inside and watch a movie or something? Neji will be home in a few hours and I don't want you out here by yourself!"

"I—I'm n—not allowed to—to watch T—TV," Gaara said quietly. "A—and I—I just want t—to wait for Neji."

"You are very much allowed to watch TV here," she told him. "I know you want to wait for Neji, but—"

"Gaara, what are you doing outside!" Both of them looked up as a car pulled into the drive way and Neji jumped out as it slowed down. Gaara's face brightened at the sight of the long haired Hyuga running over to him.

"Neji, why are you home so early?" his aunt asked, placing her hands on her hips as she stood up.

"My teachers were all sending me to the nurse cause I was sleeping in class," Neji said, yawning. "Ojisan said I could come home." He stopped in front of Gaara and knelt down in front of him. "Why are you outside?"

"I was w—waiting for you," he replied in a quiet little voice, shyly picking at the grass he was sitting on.

"But I wasn't supposed to be back for another few hours!" Neji said, blinking in surprise.

"I kn—know…" Gaara said, bending his head down so that Neji couldn't see his face, twirling a green blade in his hand.

"Come on you two!" Neji's aunt said suddenly. "Inside! You two can sit on the sofa and talk, or sleep. Sleep would be best for the two of you, but I do not want you," she said to Gaara, "catching a cold on top of everything else."

Neji nodded, then grinned, swooping Gaara up in his arms. Gaara gave a startled yelp and flung his arms around Neji to steady himself from his sudden departure from the ground. He wasn't scared. He trusted Neji, but only Kankurou had ever carried him like this before. The arms tightened as a sign that he wouldn't be dropped and Neji started towards the front door, swinging Gaara slightly as though he were dancing to unheard music with a small baby. The dark kimono making light swishing sounds at each sway.

"You were going to wait outside that whole time for me?" Neji asked, smiling. "I feel loved!" he said to no one in particular and nuzzled his nose in Gaara's slightly pink cheeks. "You smell good," he commented, taking a whiff of the redhead's hair.

"M—Mrs. Hyuga g—gave me a bubble bath," Gaara said quietly, blushing slightly, keeping his arms tight around Neji's neck.

"'Mrs. Hyuga'," Neji repeated, grinning over his shoulder at his aunt.

"I—is that wrong?" Gaara asked, looking worried.

"No, it just sounds weird," Neji told him as he carried him through the front door. "I'm use to hearing her called 'Hyuga-sama', or 'Hyuga-fujin', you know…Japanese family and all."

"Oh…I'm s—sorry…"

"It's alright, love," Neji's aunt said, walking next to them. "I've grown quite fond of your little voice saying 'Mrs. Hyuga', please don't stop."

"O—Okay…"

Neji sat down on the sofa and plopped himself down sideways, causing Gaara to fall with him, giving a little squeak of surprise. Gaara peeked up at him with a tiny smile from the cushions and Neji smiled down at him. "What'd'ya say? Nap?" Neji asked.

"S—sure…i—if you w—want to…"

"Aren't you a little tired?" Neji asked, rolling them over so Gaara was in between him and the back cushions.

"Y—yeah…no! ...n—not really…I—I mean…" Gaara cast his eyes down, averting Neji's.

"You can tell me, you know you can," Neji said, resting his head on his arm as he continued to gaze at Gaara's face. He gently played with the fabric on Gaara's shoulder, letting it slip through his fingers as he let his hands pull away from the area, moving to rest on Gaara's waist. "I won't laugh at you or anything."

Gaara glanced up at him briefly then back down again. "I—I'm…scared…I'm scared t—to go to s—sleep…what if he comes back?"

Neji wrapped his arm around Gaara and yanked a pillow down for them to share. Neji waited until both their heads were resting comfortably on the pillow before answering. He didn't have to ask who 'he' was. "I'll kick his ass if he does," Neji told him, his eyes starting to droop.

"B—but what if…h—he m—might hurt you and—and I d—don't want you t—to get…" Gaara squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip.

"Don't worry," Neji cooed. He forced his tired eyes open again and looked down at him. "You want me to stay awake with you?"

"No!" Gaara cried, suddenly seeing how tired Neji was. "N—no! You're tired! Y—you need to sleep!"

"But if you need me to stay up with you…."

"I—I'll be fine," he lied.

"Liar. You want me to stay up."

"No! No, I don't, I—OW!" Gaara had tried to sit up quickly and jarred something painful. He wrapped his arms around himself and curled up in a ball. It hurt so bad that tears came to his eyes.

Alarmed, Neji sat up and picked him up. Gaara shook in pain and didn't uncurl from his ball. Neji talked softly to him and gently pried him out to uncurl and wrapped the thin, trembling arms around himself instead. He placed a hand on the back of the shaking head and gently rubbed his side, instead of his back.

"Sh….it's ok….take a deep breath…good…it's ok…" Neji said in a soft, soothing voice.

When Gaara's whimpers had simmered down slightly, he hung his head, resting it against Neji in a defeated manner. "I—I'm sorry I'm so pathetic," he apologized quietly, feeling bad that Neji had to put up with him like this.

"What?" Neji cried, moving to try and see Gaara's face. "Gaara, you're not pathetic! You're in pain! It's alright to…to not feel well. Come here," Neji said, sitting him up. He lifted Gaara's chin up, smiling hopefully, but only getting a tiny twitch of a smile in return before it completely vanished as though it were never there. Closing his eyes, he pressed his forehead to Gaara's, letting their noses brush together. "Would you rather sleep in my room with the door closed? That way nothing can get you?"

"I—I'm okay…I'm sorry…" Gaara said, not wanting to move to a different room. His body was too tired from moving earlier to even think of such a thing. His cheeks flushed pink as he looked up at Neji's close face. Smiling as he opened his eyes, Neji laid back down and curled up with him. Gaara snuggled against his warm body and closed his eyes to humor him. The last thing he remembered was Neji's aunt coming in and covering them with a blanket.

* * *

Tuesday greeted the Hyuga house quietly. Kankurou helped Temari through the house to the kitchen so she could sit and eat. She wasn't badly injured at all, but her alcohol experience left her feeling very sick and Kankurou had talked with her for a long time about it. Not scolding her, just talking, understanding, building a bridge for her. Hanabi was already in the kitchen, sipping quietly from her cup of milk Kankurou smiled at her and placed a hand on her head, causing her to look up in shock. 

"Thanks for your help," Kankurou told her, grinning. He turned and began rummaging though the cabinets, looking for cups for Temari and himself. Behind him, Hanabi's face lit up happily and she beamed at his noticing her.

"Where's Gaara?" Temari asked her.

She opened her mouth to say something that might have been over exaggerated and something Neji would probably yell at her about, but she stopped herself and stared down at her milk. "He and Neji are still sleeping on the sofa…I think their dead…" she added in. "They've been sleeping since yesterday morning."

Temari smiled at her. "I'm sure they're fine. They're both very tired."

Hiashi and his wife walked into the kitchen together and immediately began making breakfast. Hiashi got his cup of coffee and sat down next to Hanabi, smiling a good morning at her before turning to Kankurou, who was sitting next to Temari.

"It will be very hard for you," he started, addressing the oldest of the three siblings. "With the court cases you will need to go through, plus school, you cannot support your brother and sister yet. Dropping school would seem the sensible thing to do for you, but I think that will be an unwise decision. Until you are off probation, and can secure a real, _legal_ job, I will provide you room and board. I will also provide you with your own car, as I'm sure you will need to transfer yourself around."

Kankurou's eyes widened immensely. "S-sir, you don't need to do that much! I can take a bus—"

"Think of it as an early birthday present," Hiashi said, waving it off. "You can take your pick later. But, back on this subject, Gaara will not be returning to school this year. Instead he will be tutored here while you and Temari finish school. Whether he returns for his sophomore year or not is his choice, but I think it's only fair to him that he is away from the public attention he will no doubt receive and hate."

Kankurou nodded absentmindedly, still slightly amazed at the head Hyuga's generosity. Temari smiled her thanks, grateful that her youngest brother could get away from the stress and pains of school, yet still safely get his education.

At that moment, Hinata came in, something folded up in her hands. Instead of handing it to her father, she held the morning paper out for Kankurou. Blinking in confusion, he took it and gave her a questioning look.

"Some good news I suppose," she said, quietly, sitting at her place at the table. Kankurou unfolded the paper and read the front page to himself. "Is someone going to wake up Neji and Gaara?"

"Gaara was awake when I went by," the matron Hyuga said as she placed plates, piled high with pancakes in front of each of them. "But he's pretending to be asleep. Someone must wake Neji up though, or he'll never get up for school."

"I will," Kankurou said, standing. Taking the paper Hinata had handed him, he left the room and headed towards the living room.

Neji and Gaara were cuddled together under the warmth of the blanket and each other. Neji's arms were protectively wrapped around Gaara, whose face was buried in Neji's chest, a fist full of Neji's hair unconsciously wrapped in his thin sleepy hands.

"Gaara," Kankurou said quietly. Sleepy green eyes peeked out from the nonexistent space between him and his human pillow and Kankurou greeted them with a smile. "Good morning, sleep-all-day."

"What time is it?" Gaara mumbled.

"Time for Neji to get ready for school again," Kankurou told him.

"What?" Gaara asked startled. "W—we slept all day?"

"Yeah," Kankurou said. "Wake Neji up ok? He's got to go to school." Gaara's face fell slightly and he looked away. "He'll be back at the end of the day, I promise."

Gaara nodded slightly, but didn't seem happy about. Reluctantly, he gently shook Neji and called to him in a tiny little voice that would no sooner catch the attention of the living, let alone the dead. When Neji didn't stir, Kankurou stood up straighter and brought his hand down across Neji's head.

"Ow! What the fuck…" Neji muttered releasing Gaara to hold his head with one hand. Gaara looked particularly mortified, so Neji knew it hadn't been him. Turning and seeing Kankurou standing over him, he glared. "What?"

"Get up, fool," Kankurou snapped. "You got school."

"School?" Neji cried, sitting up quickly. His neck snapped back suddenly and he fell back down. Holding the back of his head, he glanced sheepishly at Gaara. "You've got my hair," he whispered.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Gaara cried, releasing the black strands as though they burned him. "I'm sorry!"

"It's ok," Neji said, sitting up again. He swung his legs over the side of the sofa and stretched, then laid back against the sofa, slightly squishing Gaara, smiling playfully. He reached over and brushed the red locks from Gaara's forehead, smiling wider as he leaned into the touch. "What time is it?"

"About six in the morning," Kankurou replied, silently watching the two's interaction. "You two slept all day yesterday."

"I'm starving…" Neji muttered, holding his stomach. "You hungry?"

"No! I—I'm fine…I don't n—need anything," Gaara stammered out.

Neji gave him a look then reached down and poked his nose. "We'll eat in a minute, lemme go get dressed," he said, then got up and hurried out of the living room.

Gaara sniffed slightly and slowly tried to sit up, but found he had no strength in his arms and laid back down. Kankurou sat where Neji had previously and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I—I have t—to get dressed too," Gaara said quietly. "I—I'll f—fail and I—I d—don't wanna get in t—trouble…"

"No, it's ok," Kankurou said, gently leaning back as Neji had done, using Gaara as a back cushion. "Hiashi and Neji's aunt have made arrangements for you."

"A—arrangements?"

"Yeah, they're going to pull you out of school for the rest of this year," Kankurou told him. Seeing his started expression, he continued. "You'll stay here and have a tutor and do school here and wait for Neji and Temari and me to come home from school. If you want to go back next year, you can, but I think it's best too. People will talk and I don't want them to bother you about it."

"N—not go to school?" Gaara asked in surprise. He seemed to think this over, then he laid his head on his arm as he stared up at his brother. "Kankurou? When are we going home?"

Kankurou opened his mouth to say something then stopped and instead, placed the news paper on the sofa next to him. "We're not going back to that house Gaara, ever."

"W—why?" Gaara asked, his eyes wide. "W—wont dad b—be mad at us f—for stay—…wont he be w—worried?" The last bit was added on, as though Gaara felt the first bit wasn't good enough. How he could still think of that man as a caring father was beyond Kankurou's reasoning.

"No," Kankurou said quietly, giving the paper a small tap. "Dad won't bother us…and he's never going to hurt you again. Dad was arrested yesterday, along with those bastards that helped him hurt you. It's in the paper."

"A—arrested?" Gaara said, looking startled and even scared. "Why?"

"For selling candy to little children!" Kankurou said sarcastically, with an expression of exasperation at Gaara's cluelessness.

"….dad sells candy to—?"

"No!...for hurting you like this," Kankurou said in a much softer tone, a hand reaching out to rest on Gaara's shoulder.

"I—I got dad in—in trouble?" Gaara asked quietly, his eyes wide in horror. "N—no! I'm sorry! I—"

"Don't say it!" Kankurou said holding up a hand as Gaara started to say something else. "Eh…!...gih!...meh! …att! …Gaara shut up," he said.

Gaara covered his mouth with his hand, then squeezed his eyes shut. "Dad really hates me now, doesn't he? I'm so bad."

"No, you are not bad," Kankurou said, he helped Gaara sit up and put his arm around his brother's shoulders. "You are not bad at all, understand?"

"Dad says I'm bad," Gaara said quietly.

"Dad told you that you were bad to hurt you, Gaara. You're not really bad, you did everything he told you to do, which was ridiculous, but still…you did it no matter what …you're not bad at all."

Gaara managed a little smile, then let Kankurou help him up and followed him into the kitchen. On the way, Kankurou told him about how he was going to get a job and then they would get a house or apartment close to the Hyuga estate so he could visit Neji every day. As they paused at the door, Gaara wrapped his arms around his older brother and buried his face in his chest. Kankurou smiled fondly at him and hugged him back.

George walked into the kitchen from the other door as Kankurou led Gaara in, a hand still around his brother's shoulders. With him was Neji, now dressed for school, and four others. The brothers stopped and stared. Kankurou swallowed and looked down at the floor, his hand on his brother's shoulder tightening slightly, more as a comfort for himself then Gaara. Neji went over to them and held his hand out for Gaara, who took it and let him lead him to the table where he sat on Neji's lap to save chairs, as the Hyugas weren't use to having this many people over in the morning.

A long silence followed, save for the quiet sounds from Neji's aunt at the stove, and the soft whispers between Neji and Gaara. Though it was her idea to come here, Kyu now found herself in the same position as Kankurou. She didn't know what to say, though she was very relieved to see that he was alright. She had feared the worse. Ukon and Sakkon exchanged glances, using their twin telepathy to figure out what was wrong. They weren't stupid, they had seen the police car parked in the driveway, and the officer—down dressed, but still and officer—standing off where he could go unnoticed, but still watching. They guessed close to the truth. Haku contained himself and softly walked over to the table and stood next to Neji and Gaara's chair, looking down at them. He nearly felt like crying at the state Gaara was in, but when Gaara smiled up at him shyly, looking through Neji's hair to look at him, Haku smiled back and reached out to gently touch his face, then his hand, the silence not to be broken by him.

"Are you ok?" Kyu's soft voice, the only one of two to be allowed to break part of the hushing stillness, sounded in Kankurou's ears, but they didn't make him feel better. Not yet. His only response was a nod, not daring to break his part. "Kankurou…?"

Kankurou bit his lip, then glanced over at his siblings, unsure of himself, but feeling odd looking to them for comfort. Wasn't he the oldest? The one they came to? Who did he have to go to? They didn't care though, Temari smiled reassuringly over her glass of juice. Gaara was resting against Neji watching his brother evenly, waiting for his movement. When dark green eyes met creamy ones, Gaara also smiled then glanced over Kankurou's shoulder suggestions given with eye contact. Sighing, Kankurou turned to Kyu and smiled nervously, motioning her to follow him into the living room, where they sat and talked for a long time, while the other sat down and ate breakfast, or a second breakfast.

_With trust, one never has to fear, because you are justified by those who love you and those who care. No one needs to fear with those who care. Hard times will strike like a black plague, and it will try to drag you down into fear, making you think that everything was too hard to go on. It'd get better. Even if it seemed impossibly hard now, they had been vindicated. All that could happen now was to build up; to conquer._

**End**

* * *


End file.
